NEW DELHI, India: Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of a rapidly expanding Indian online youth movement ‘Cockroach Janta Party’, announced on Monday his intention to stage a street protest against the education minister, a direct act of dissent targeting the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Important announcement:
CJP Founder @abhijeet_dipke will return to India on June 6 for a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar, Delhi, demanding the resignation of the Education Minister. pic.twitter.com/x9M1v38Pwu
— Cockroach is Back (@Cockroachisback) June 1, 2026
But Dipke, who has lived in the US for the past two years, admitted his family and friends are worried he could be arrested on his return. “How long can we live in fear?” he said.
The Cockroach Janta Party has tapped into the concerns of the under-30s, who are estimated to make up more than half of India’s 1.42 billion population, over politics, unemployment, and inflation.
Dipke has focused in particular on recent leaks of exam papers and errors in marking final-year school exams, failures that threaten to derail the careers of millions of students. Rather than addressing systemic flaws, the BJP government has resorted to blocking social media accounts and hurling accusations.
Little Cockroaches need good roads. Is it too much to ask? #LifeOfACockroach pic.twitter.com/SDkb9eOgDP
— Cockroach is Back (@Cockroachisback) June 1, 2026
“I will be returning to India to demand the resignation of the education minister,” Dipke said on his personal X account, urging young people to join a peaceful protest in Delhi and “exercise our constitutional right to seek accountability from the government.”
He said nearly 800,000 students have signed a petition seeking Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. The minister and a government spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Government’s defensive response
Senior cabinet minister Kiren Rijiju has accused the CJP of seeking social media followers from arch-enemy Pakistan and the “anti-India gang,” while Modi has yet to comment. The government has also blocked the CJP’s X account, and Dipke told Reuters he had to regain control of the party’s Instagram page from unknown hackers.
Rather than addressing the root causes of youth anger, the government has been rattled into logistical measures. Following the cancellation of an entrance test for undergraduate medical courses last month due to a leak, the government is now planning to deploy the Indian Air Force to transport question papers for a retest, an extraordinary step that highlights the depth of administrative failure.
A name born from insult
The party’s name is a pointed reference to comments by India’s top judge, Chief Justice Surya Kant of the Supreme Court, who compared some unemployed youth to cockroaches.
Kant later said he did not mean to criticise young people but was referring to those with “fake and bogus degrees, a distinction that has done little to calm outrage. The party has more than 22 million followers on Instagram.
NEET: 22 lakh students affected
CBSE: 17 lakh students affected
CUET (UG): 16 lakh students affectedThat’s 55 lakh students in distress.
Is one incompetent Education Minister more important than 55 lakh students? Why is the Prime Minister not sacking him?
— Cockroach is Back (@Cockroachisback) May 30, 2026
The jobs crisis
The CJP has also focused on India’s youth job crisis. Government data shows that for those aged between 15 and 29, unemployment was 9.9% last year, more than triple the overall rate of 3.1%.
Analysts say the movement could dent Modi’s image despite recent state election victories, as frustration grows over rising fuel prices and gas shortages linked to the war in Iran.
The CJP’s rapid rise marks one of the largest online expressions of dissent against Modi’s 12-year rule, a warning sign the BJP government ignores at its own peril.
