Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke alleges death threats as viral satirical campaign sparks debate online. Photos: X.
As the founder of the Cockroach Janta party continues to gain fame, he is allegedly receiving death threats from people after launching the satirical political party. Abhijeet Dipke, on Friday, took to social media claiming that he is receiving death threats now. The founder of the CJP shared a screenshot on his X handle showing a person telling him to shut the account, otherwise he can be killed even in the US. Even the parents of Abhijeet Dipke are deeply worried about his safety and the future of their son. Dipke’s parents, Bhagwan Dipke and Anita Dipke, residents of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, have admitted that they are anxious about their son’s well-being.
Dipke, a student at Boston University and a former associate of the Aam Aadmi Party, launched the satirical campaign barely a week ago and has dominated headlines since. In a few days, its Instagram account left behind the handles of established parties like the BJP and Congress, reaching the 19 million milestone and counting.
“If we look at politics nowadays, fear is natural, no matter how many followers he has. In one of his interviews, he himself expressed fear of being arrested after returning to India. We read about such incidents in newspapers,” Bhagwan Dipke told Marathi media.
According to his parents, Abhijeet completed his schooling in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar before moving to Pune for higher studies.
Anita Dipke said engineering studies proved difficult for him, after which he shifted towards mass media and journalism. Bhagwan Dipke added that his son later moved abroad to pursue journalism studies, partly because his sister was already settled there.
He also said he had hoped Abhijeet would choose a conventional professional path instead of political activism.
“I wanted him to take up a regular job in cities like Pune or Delhi rather than entering politics,” he said.
The online movement emerged amid controversy surrounding remarks allegedly made by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant during a hearing on a plea seeking senior designation for a lawyer.
According to Dipke, the idea behind the campaign came after reports claimed the Chief Justice had used the terms “parasites” and “cockroaches” while criticising individuals entering the legal profession through fake degrees.
The Chief Justice later clarified that he had been misquoted and that his remarks were specifically directed at people obtaining “fake and bogus degrees.”
Despite the clarification, the Cockroach Janta Party, using a cockroach as its symbol, quickly gained traction online through memes, graphics, satire and campaign-style political commentary.
As the CJP social media accounts continue gaining momentum online, several social media users began claiming that a large section of CJP’s followers may be located outside India, particularly in Pakistan.
Screenshots and videos circulating on Instagram and X appeared to show follower analytics listing countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey among the top audience locations.
Dipke has also announced plans to launch a petition demanding the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, accusing the education system of failing millions of students.
In a new Instagram video that rapidly gained traction, Dipke addressed his followers directly.
“How are you, my cockroaches? Everyone is telling me that I’ve taken the internet by storm. But I think it’s time to do some real work, the reason why we started this. Today, we’re going to launch a petition demanding the Education Minister’s resignation,” he said.
He further added, “So, all of you please sign and support this in as many numbers as possible because now is the time to make this system accountable.”
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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