One Judge’s “Cockroach” Comment Has Accidentally Spawned India’s Most Viral Political Party — And Gen Z Is Leading the Charge

What happens when India’s Chief Justice calls unemployed youth “cockroaches” in open court? Apparently, 350,000 people sign up for a satirical political party within three days. Welcome to the most unexpected political movement of 2026.

The Cockroach Janata Party — Story

What Did the Chief Justice Actually Say?

On Friday, India’s Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Surya Kant, said during an open court hearing that “parasites” were attacking the system, and equated youngsters to cockroaches “who don’t get any employment and don’t have any place in a profession.”

Kant later clarified his remarks, saying his comment related to some people acquiring fraudulent degrees, and did not target India’s youth, whom he called “the pillars of a developed India.”

But the damage was done. The clarification didn’t land — not with a generation already battling unemployment, inflation, and deep political frustration.

How a Joke Became a Movement

Abhijeet Dipke, a 30-year-old PR graduate from Boston University, posted on X on Saturday: “What if all cockroaches come together?” He followed up by setting up a website and social media accounts for the Cockroach Janata Party — a play on Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Al Jazeera

Within three days, the party’s Instagram account crossed 3 million followers, and more than 350,000 people had signed up for membership via a Google form — including opposition parliamentarian Mahua Moitra and former MP Kirti Azad. Al Jazeera

Dipke said he built the party online within 24 hours, leveraging AI tools to design its look and manifesto. Al Jazeera

The party’s four-point eligibility is itself a masterclass in Gen Z humour: unemployed, lazy, chronically online, and able to rant professionally.

Why This Hit Such a Raw Nerve

While India produces more than eight million graduates a year, the unemployment rate among them stands at 29.1 percent — nine times higher than for those who never attended school. More than a quarter of India’s population is Gen Z — the biggest such cohort in the world. Al Jazeera

Prominent Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan told Al Jazeera that the Chief Justice’s comments “reflected deep-rooted prejudice and antipathy towards activists and youth in general,” adding that India needs a youth uprising as its “economy and society are bleeding for the benefit of crony capitalists.”

YouTuber Meghnad S, who hosted Dipke, summed it up perfectly: “Cockroach Janata Party is a satirical, non-existent party, yet people believe it is a better alternative to reality. That’s kind of a giant commentary on Indian political parties in general.” Al Jazeera

The use of satire as political protest has deep global roots — Wikipedia’s article on political satire traces how humour has historically been one of the most powerful tools of dissent.

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