Crackdowns on the Cockroach Janta Party Do Not Quell the Fight for Democracy

Author: Sarahelena Marrapodi

October 16, 2026

HRRC calls for India’s police force to halt violence against the Cockroach Janta Party. HRRC supports the right to peaceful protest and the right to freedom from arbitrary detention. Further, we call for the immediate release of all detained protestors and journalists.

Man waving Tiranga (Indian flag) at Protest [Image credit: Abhijeet Dipke/Instagram]

In May of 2026, India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant criticized the country’s growing unemployed youth as "cockroaches—who breed in every corner, consume everything, and when you try to clean the system, they scatter and return in greater numbers." This remark sparked immense outrage, leading Abhijeet Dipke to reclaim the word and declare the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in a satirical fashion. The party took on a life of its own and was able to successfully demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan following a grave mishandling of medical exam results. The CJP recently waged a wave of demonstrations against Gyanesh Kumar following a verification exercise of voter lists. The exercise revealed that over 130 million names had been removed, chiefly from lists in Bihar and West Bengal, securing more votes for the Bharatiya Janata Party. Adding fuel to the fire, election commissioners Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi have been raising concerns about voter registrations for over 10 months.

This sparked mass protests around the country, starting in New Delhi and Mumbai. In response, New Delhi police announced that Jantar Mantar, a site of mass protests in the capital, would no longer serve as a venue for rallies. This move was aimed at preventing demonstrations and peaceful protest, which the CJP had done at this location for weeks throughout the summer.

Man being dragged at Jantar Mantar [Image credit: Apka Anamm/Instagram]

Crackdowns on these protests have been particularly intensive and violent. Police forces boarded Abhijeet Dipke’s plane after it landed in New Delhi to detain him and CJP co-leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka. Aviation law professionals emphasized that an arrest on board requires a certain set of circumstances, chiefly the passenger being a danger to others on the plane. Being connected to protests did not constitute a legally justifiable motive. Dipke’s response to the arrest went viral: he declared that he was not afraid and the fight for India’s democracy would continue. 

In Delhi, schools were instructed to hold classes virtually, the city was barricaded by police, and trains were disrupted for over 10 hours. Over three dozen journalists covering the protests were arbitrarily detained and some assaulted, regardless of a Supreme Court ruling stating that journalists, lawyers, and other professions were not to be impeded from carrying out their functions. Detainees were marshaled onto buses and seen attempting to escape through windows, only to be dragged back in by police. As of today, approximately 2,000 protestors have been detained, and the number continues to grow. Despite this, the Cockroach Janta Party is not giving up, and the demand for a democratic country lies at the heart of its resolve.

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Glossary

• Arbitrary Detainment: to hold someone marked by or resulting from the unrestrained and often tyrannical exercise of power 

• Barricaded: a line or pile of objects put together, often quickly, to stop people from going where they want to go

• Bharatiya Janata Party: one of the principal political parties in India. Founded in 1980, the party advocates for a state with Hindu supremacy (being superior to other religions and identities) and strong national defense

• Chief Election Commissioner: an important government official who ensures that elections, the process by which people choose an official to represent them, run smoothly

• Chiefly: most importantly 

• Cockroach Janta Party: a political party in India founded in response to insensitive comments about the unemployed youth population. The party gained traction after demanding education reforms this June.

• Impede: to prevent or block the progress of something

• Intimidate: to influence by threats 

• Manipulation: to change by deceptive or unfair means

• Marshaled: to bring together 

• Motive: something that causes an action 

• Quell: to overwhelm in submission

• Rallies: a gathering where people come together for a common cause

• Satirical: humor that criticizes wrongdoing

• Skewing: to cause information or results to be changed

• Venue: the place where a public meeting happens

• Voter Lists: a detailed record of every person who is registered and eligible to vote; includes relevant information used to identify voters and assign them to a specific electoral district