Fascism: TMC on report of Cockroach Party being flagged as national security threat
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Friday accused the Centre of stifling dissent after the X account of "Cockroach Janata Party", a satirical social media
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Friday accused the Centre of stifling dissent after the X account of "Cockroach Janata Party", a satirical social media page that emerged in the wake of recent remarks by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, was withheld in India. Reacting to the development, Moitra wrote on X, "Fascism Not Democracy. Our government is so scared of the youth of this country that it can’t even bear a virtual online movement. Please realise what odds we in the Opposition fight on a daily basis". Read Full Story Her remarks came after an Indian Express report said the Centre had directed X to withhold the account following inputs from the Intelligence Bureau (IB), which flagged "national security concerns".
According to the report, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) invoked Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, to seek action against the account. Even Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia extended his support for the Cockroach Janata Party, alleging that the current system is filled with 'crocodiles'. "When it's a war between the Crocodile and the Cockroaches. I proudly stand with the Cockroach Janta Party," he said in a post on Instagram. ALL ABOUT COCKROACH JANATA PARTY The satirical handle had gained massive traction online within days of its launch last week. The page was created after controversy erupted over remarks attributed to Chief Justice Surya Kant during a court hearing, in which terms such as 'parasites' and 'cockroaches' were used while criticising a lawyer seeking senior designation.
The Chief Justice later clarified that he had been misquoted and said his comments were aimed specifically at individuals entering the legal profession with "fake and bogus degrees". The satirical online campaign appeared a day after the May 15 controversy and quickly drew attention from politicians, activists, artists and large numbers of social media users. Cockroach Janata Party's X handle had amassed over 2 lakh followers before access to it was restricted in India on Thursday. Soon after the takedown, another X account titled "Cockroach Is Back" surfaced online. Within a little over an hour of its launch, the account had already gathered nearly 17,000 followers.
While the X account has been withheld in India, the group's Instagram page continues to remain active and has amassed over 14 million followers. One of its posts compared its follower count with that of the official Instagram handle of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has approximately 8.8 million followers on the Meta-owned platform. Ends
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