Shashi Tharoor backs Cockroach Janta Party, says youth need space for dissent: ‘Opposition must seize this’

Key points

• Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has reacted to the rapid rise of the satirical online movement ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ (CJP), saying the phenomenon reflects growing frustration among young people and should not be suppressed.
• In a post on social media, Tharoor said he was ‘incredibly intrigued’ by the movement, which he claimed amassed more than 15 million followers on Instagram within just five days.
• “I understand the frustrations of the youth and see why they are resonating with it,” he posted on 21 May, arguing that restricting the group’s account on X would be “disastrous and deeply unwise.” Tharoor shared the remarks from an interview with The Indian Express hours after the CJP X handle with over 200,000 followers was withheld in India.
• The CJP came with another handle, which has already crossed 100,000 followers in less than 24 hours.
• CJP's Instagram handle has over 18 million followers as of...