Arundhati Roy says Cockroach Janta Party protest shook PM Modi's image in 2 weeks

Published 4 August 2026 · politics

Author Arundhati Roy on Monday said the Cockroach Janta Party-led youth protest at Jantar Mantar had shaken Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public image within two

Author Arundhati Roy on Monday said the Cockroach Janta Party-led youth protest at Jantar Mantar had shaken Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public image within two weeks, calling the political impact “in a way, a bigger victory than elections”. Speaking at the launch of the Hindi translation of her book Mother Mary Comes to Me, titled Meri Maa, Meri Gangster, Roy said the recent mobilisation had demonstrated how narratives built over decades could be challenged in a short span. Read Full Story She, however, cautioned that the political challenge remained difficult if the government continued to control institutions and the levers of power. Roy also called for opposition parties and civil society to work together, while praising the young protesters at Jantar Mantar for handling their role responsibly. “What I like the most is that no one knows what will happen to us, the country. The script is being written. And everyone has their own part. People often believed they would have to live under the same conditions for a thousand years, but in two weeks, it was shaken a little, from the roots,” Roy said at a packed event at the India International Centre. ‘COCKROACHES DESTROYED 24-YEAR IMAGE’ Roy said Modi's public image had been built over 24 years with substantial expenditure and without him addressing a press conference. “The image of 24 years (of PM Modi)...

made by spending crores of rupees, not even addressing a press conference, where some call him the incarnation of Vishnu... and in two weeks, cockroaches have destroyed that whole 24 years,” she said. Roy then described the development as “in a way, a bigger victory than elections”. She nevertheless warned that challenging a political narrative was not enough if institutional power remained with the government. “If this government... keeps the institutions or levers of power, then it will be very difficult for us,” she said. ‘THEY PLAYED THEIR ROLE VERY RESPONSIBLY’ Roy urged opposition parties to take lessons from the young protesters at Jantar Mantar, saying they had shown maturity despite possible differences among themselves. “They played their role very responsibly,” she said. Using a musical analogy, Roy added, “The bass guitarist can't be the singer, the singer can't be the drummer, the drummer can't be the guitarist... they all have played their roles differently. Now the adults also have to show their maturity.” ON HER MOTHER AND ‘MERI MAA, MERI GANGSTER’ During the discussion, Roy also spoke about Meri Maa, Meri Gangster, translated into Hindi by Prabhat Singh and published by Rajkamal Prakashan. Roy said the book was “neither her autobiography nor her mother's biography”, describing it instead as the “biography of a relationship” between two women who happened to be mother and daughter.