Cockroach Janta Party’s Instagram Account Blocked In India For Two Hours

The Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) Instagram account was inaccessible in India for around two hours in the early hours of Saturday, while remaining accessible outside the country. It was the second time the account had become inaccessible in India.

The CJP said it recovered access to the account and alleged that its opponents had chosen Independence Day to “muzzle” its voice. Meta did not respond to queries about why the account was inaccessible in India, and it could not be determined whether the incident was linked to the company’s community guidelines or legal requirements.

The CJP also shared a screenshot of an Instagram message displayed when users attempted to access the account. The message read: “This page isn’t available at the moment. This may be because of a technical error that we’re working to get fixed. Try reloading this page.”

'We will not be intimidated by such cowardly acts,' the party said in a post on X.

Hindustan Times reported that this is the second time the CJP’s Instagram account has been blocked in India. The account was briefly inaccessible on July 22 as well. A CJP spokesperson had said at the time that no legal notice was served.

The latest incident follows the withholding of the CJP’s X handle, @CJP_2029, in India from May 21 to July 7 under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act. The CJP had moved the Delhi High Court to restore its X account.

The CJP’s X handle was withheld after the party protested against the NEET paper leaks and called for the resignation of the then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Hindustan Times reported.