CJP’s X handle withheld; founder starts new account with ‘Cockroaches Don’t Die’ tagline

NEW DELHI, May 21: The X account of Cockroach Janata Party, the satirical digital outfit that came up last week and took social media by storm, was withheld in India on Thursday. Soon after, came another handle—’Cockroach is Back’ with the tagline ‘Cockroaches Don’t Die’.
“This (action) was expected since there were attempts to hack the account yesterday. But this is a self-goal by the government,” founder Abhijeet Dipke told PTI.
“I have now started a new account named ‘Cockroach Is Back’ on X,” Dipke added. He said the team would pursue the matter legally.
Around 6 pm on Thursday, a few hours after it started, the ‘Cockroach Is Back’ X handle had over 39,000 followers. It shared once again the demand for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Cockroach Janata Party, which according to Dipke had 201,000 followers on X, was born following a controversy over Chief Justice of India Surya Kant using “parasites” and “cockroaches” while pulling up a lawyer for his plea seeking senior designation.
The CJI later clarified that he was misquoted and his remarks were directed specifically at individuals entering the legal profession through “fake and bogus degrees”.
The account, which came into being a day after the CJI’s remarks on May 15, quickly went viral, attracting support from politicians, activists, artists and a large number of young and not so young social media users.
Though the X account is inaccessible in India, it can be accessed through VPN.
The platform’s Instagram page remains active with around over 15.6 million followers — and counting — by Thursday evening.
A post from the X account ‘Cockroach is Back’ on Thursday drew comparisons with the official Bharatiya Janata Party account, which has approximately 8.8 million followers on the Meta-owned platform.
“The reason why they blocked us,” read the post, which also had an image of a cockroach munching on a lotus flower, the election symbol of the BJP.
“You thought you can get rid of us? Lol,” read another post.
The Instagram account of Cockroach Janata Party, which quickly became CJP for many, has also surpassed the following of opposition Congress that has 13.3 million followers. (PTI)