Summary of this article
Activists staged a cleanliness drive at Kalindi Kunj wearing cockroach antennae and carrying “I am a cockroach” placards.
The satirical Cockroach Janata Party gained more than 55,000 members online within days.
The controversy resonated with many young Indians grappling with unemployment and limited opportunities, with supporters of the movement arguing that questioning authority through RTIs and public criticism is a democratic right rather than a cause for ridicule.
In one of the more surreal scenes, activists participated in a cleanliness drive in Kalindi Kunj wearing makeshift cockroach antennae and carrying placards declaring, “I am a cockroach.”
The word “cockroach” also began trending widely on X last week, and not just that. There now exists a Cockroach Janata Party, complete with a vision statement and manifesto, although it is not a formally registered party yet.
The criteria for membership are equally tongue-in-cheek. Prospective members must identify with at least one of the following categories: unemployed, lazy, chronically online, or possessing a professional-level ability to rant. The party also lists its headquarters as being located “wherever the wifi works.”
What began as a meme or commentary has rapidly gained traction. Within just four days, the self-styled “party” has attracted more than 55,000 members, a reaction which its Founder and Convenor, Abhijeet Dipke, did not expect, he told Outlook.
“It was supposed to be one satirical tweet, we did not intend to make it an actual political party,” he said. Given the sort of overwhelming reaction Dipke has received from youth, he says they would make it an “online movement at least.”
But how did this situation come to be? It began with the Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, who on May 15 compared an entire section of people with “cockroaches” and managed to vex people to the extent of building momentum.
While hearing a plea filed by advocate Sanjay Dubey seeking contempt proceedings over the alleged delay by the Delhi High Court in implementing the Supreme Court’s guidelines for the designation of senior advocates, the CJI said that there are "parasites" attacking the system.
The plea was dismissed, but CJI Kant’s statement made it to the headlines and remains at the centre of the debate.
He said: "There are youngsters like cockroaches, who don't get any employment and don't have any place in the profession. Some of them become media, some of them become social media, some of them become RTI activists, some of them become other activists, and they start attacking everyone."
One day later, on Saturday, he issued a clarification. The CJI said that he has been “misquoted” by sections of the media, asserting that his remarks were aimed exclusively at individuals who had entered various professions using “fake or bogus degrees”.
His clarification involved mentioning that people with false degrees have “sneaked into the media, social media, and other noble professions as well, and hence, they are like parasites,” adding that it was baseless to suggest that he criticised the “youth of our nation.”
However, many young people appear unwilling to accept the clarification.
Jayantika,* who recently resigned from her job in the social media sector, said that by the Chief Justice’s logic, she would be considered a “cockroach” regardless of whether she was employed or unemployed. “There is no escaping me being a cockroach,” she remarked, questioning the appropriateness of such comments from the country’s highest judicial office.
Referring to the CJI’s clarification that his comments were aimed at people with fake degrees, Jayantika said that if the concern was genuinely related to fraudulent qualifications, the focus should be on taking action against those responsible rather than making derogatory remarks. “Why couldn’t he choose professions like doctors, engineers, etc., if he wanted to speak about fake degrees itself?" she said.
The Unemployment Conundrum
As per government data, the unemployment rate among persons aged 15 years and above remained at 5.2 per cent in April 2026, compared to 5.1 per cent in both March 2026 and April 2025.
India is home to the world’s largest youth population, with nearly 65 per cent of its citizens under the age of 35. Yet, despite this demographic advantage, employment opportunities have struggled to keep pace with the growing number of educated young people entering the workforce, according to the State of Working India 2026 report published by Azim Premji University in March 2026.
The study further stated that graduate unemployment remains particularly high among those aged 15 to 29, affecting nearly 40 per cent of individuals between 15 and 25 years old and around 20 per cent of those aged 25 to 29. The transition from education to stable employment has also proven difficult, with only a small proportion of graduates securing salaried jobs within a year of graduation.
Between 2004-05 and 2023, India added roughly five million graduates annually, but only about 2.8 million found employment each year, and an even smaller number entered regular salaried work.
Against this backdrop, the Chief Justice’s remarks have struck a nerve with many young people. One commenter questioned a system that had “failed to give them employment, and now they're labelled vermin for asking questions,” reflecting a broader sense of frustration among those grappling with limited job opportunities despite rising educational qualifications.
Speaking about the Chief Justice’s clarification that his remarks were directed at those possessing bogus or fake degrees, Dipke questioned the relevance of educational qualifications to an individual’s right to raise questions or express criticism.
He argued that the CJI had not issued an apology and that the clarification appeared to dismiss the "privilege" of obtaining a degree, an opportunity that remains out of reach for many Indians, particularly those living in rural areas where access to higher education continues to be limited.
The Legal Right To Ask Questions
The Supreme Court's legacy of expanding access to justice, built through landmark judgments like S.P. Gupta and Fertilizer Corporation Kamgar Union, is what makes language from the bench so consequential, said Jehosh Paul, a lawyer and development consultant.
“These judgments recognised that the citizen's ability to question power is inseparable from constitutional democracy itself. Frivolous petitions are a real concern, but they are a concession any open court must make,” he said, adding that a court that filters petitioners by their perceived credibility or social standing inadvertently forecloses the only route available to those without money, influence, or institutional backing.
He explained that the RTI Act was designed precisely for that citizen, the one with no other avenue. “We hold the court to a higher standard not out of criticism but out of faith that it remains the last guardian of rights for those who have exhausted every other door.”
Pankaj Kumar, a climate and environmental activist from Bihar who organised the cleanliness drive at Kalindi Kunj, said his organisation, Earth Warrior, has filed at least 100 RTI applications on issues relating to the Yamuna River and environmental governance but has yet to receive a response to any of them.
“This is the age of information. If the reality on the ground does not match the information being presented by the government, questions are bound to arise,” Kumar said.
Explaining that questions are the foundation of a healthy democracy and the youth should be appreciated for posing them, he stated that “it is accountability that has helped sustain the country thus far, and demanding answers from those in power is what will safeguard its future as well,” Kumar stated, stressing that it is within the constitutional rights of citizens to file RTIs.
In his clarification, the Chief Justice said that “every youth of India inspires me.”
However, Dipke’s online initiative appears to have struck a chord with many disillusioned young people. According to him, he has been receiving messages along the lines of: “We do not trust any political party. You are speaking for our cause. Don’t back off, we will back you up.”
Currently in the United States, having recently completed his master’s degree, Dipke said he plans to return to India. However, he cautioned that it is still too early to predict what shape, if any, the Cockroach Janata Party will ultimately take.
“It is too soon to say anything. We are still trying to evaluate the entire situation and decide where to take it over the next month or two,” he said.
*name changed to maintain anonymity.
