Cockroach Janta Party's petition demanding Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation goes viral: ‘It’s time to do some real work’

The founder of the viral online campaign Cockroach Janta Party has announced plans to launch a petition demanding the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, accusing the education system of failing millions of students. Abhijeet Dipke, who launched the satirical digital movement popularly known as CJP, made the appeal in a new Instagram video that quickly gained traction online. Dipke, who is currently based in the United States and studied public relations at Boston University, addressed his followers in Hindi and urged them to support the petition campaign in large numbers. ‘It’s Time To Do Some Real Work’ In the video, Dipke said, “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 further said, “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.” Referring to alleged failures in the education system and controversies surrounding entrance examinations, Dipke added, “It was a systemic error that ruined the future of over 2.2 million students. It was a systemic error that led to NEET students committing suicide. So, no matter what happens, we want Dharmendra Pradhan to resign.” “So let's raise our voices together and create pressure so that all those students, all those who have been wronged, get justice,” he said. The caption accompanying the video read, “Education Minister must resign!” Watch the video here Viral Rise Of Cockroach Janta Party The satirical campaign has seen explosive growth on social media over the past week. According to reports, the CJP Instagram account has crossed 19 million followers, surpassing the follower count of several mainstream political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian Congress on the platform. The campaign gained popularity through political satire, memes and commentary targeting unemployment, examination controversies and governance issues affecting young Indians. Also Read | Cockroach Janta Party’s X account withheld in India The name “Cockroach Janta Party” emerged after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, during oral observations in court, allegedly referred to unemployed youth as “cockroaches”, a remark that later triggered strong reactions online. Founder Says He Fears Arrest Earlier, during an interview with Red Mike, Dipke claimed he fears being arrested upon returning to India. Speaking to Saurabh Shukla, he said, “I just had my graduation day. I am planning to be back in India next month. And going by the pattern, I am sure that the moment I land at Delhi airport, I will be taken by Delhi Police and taken to Tihar.” His remarks came shortly after the original Cockroach Janta Party account on X, formerly Twitter, was withheld on May 21, just five days after its launch. At the time of its suspension, the account reportedly had over 200,000 followers. Soon after, the campaign launched another X account titled Cockroach is Back, which reportedly gained around 144,000 followers within 24 hours. Account Withheld Over ‘ Security Concerns’ According to a report by The Indian Express, the action against the earlier X account was taken after the Intelligence Bureau raised “national security concerns”. Citing a senior government official, the report said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology directed X to withhold the account under Section 69(A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The report further stated that the Intelligence Bureau cited concerns related to the sovereignty of India. Section 69(A) of the IT Act empowers the central government to direct intermediaries, including social media platforms and internet service providers, to block public access to certain online content or accounts.