Ranit Kr. Singh , New Delhi - The founder of the satirical "Cockroach Janata Party" (CJP), Abhijeet Dipke, claimed on Friday that he has received death threats just a day after the party’s official account on X was withheld in India. Dipke shared screenshots of menacing WhatsApp messages from unknown numbers, which warned him to join the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or risk being killed, even if he fled to the United States. This escalation follows a legal demand that blocked the handle @CJP_2029 on X, though the group quickly resurfaced under an alternative account titled "Cockroach is back."

Launched just five days prior, the CJP has rapidly evolved into one of India's largest online political satire movements, capitalizing on widespread public outrage over controversial remarks made by Chief Justice Surya Kant, who compared some unemployed youth to "cockroaches" and "parasites." Branding itself as the "Voice of the Lazy & Unemployed," the movement has used memes and parody manifestos to channel youth frustration regarding economic stagnation and political disillusionment. The satirical outfit's digital footprint expanded so rapidly that its Instagram following briefly surpassed that of the BJP, drawing high-profile attention from prominent figures including Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, TMC's Mahua Moitra, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

Expressing his deep concern over the censorship of the movement, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor publicly backed the group's right to digital expression, noting that democracies inherently require constructive outlets for dissent, humor, and frustration. In an official statement addressing the controversy, Tharoor remarked, “I’m incredibly intrigued by the rise of #CockroachJantaParty, which has already reached more than 15 million followers on Instagram in just five days. I understand the frustrations of the youth and see why they are resonating with it. This is precisely why the account being withheld on X is disastrous and deeply unwise - there should be an outlet for the youth to express their feelings, and so, let CJP’s account function instead of shutting it down!”