Founder’s Parents Lose Sleep as ‘Cockroach’ Sets Social Media on Fire
Chatrapati: The rapid rise of the Cockroach Janta Party on social media has left founder Abhijeet Dipke’s parents stunned, fearing he could get in trouble or even be arrested. The group, now popular as CJP, has amassed over 19 million followers since it was founded just a week ago by Boston University student Dipke, who was earlier associated with the Aam Aadmi Party.
His parents, Bhagwan and Anita Dipke, who live in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, told a Marathi news channel on Thursday that they were not willing to let their son enter politics. Parents said they lost sleep after learning about Abhijeet’s act.
According to Dipke, the Cockroach Janata Party was born following a controversy over Chief Justice of India Surya Kant’s use of the terms “parasites” and “cockroaches” while summoning a lawyer for his high-level appointment request.
Even though the CJI later clarified that he had been misquoted and that his remarks were specifically directed at individuals entering the legal profession through “fake and bogus degrees”, the CJP, whose symbol is the insect, took social media by storm.
Bhagwan Dipke said, “When we look at politics today, fear is natural, no matter how many followers one has. He himself had expressed his fear of being arrested after returning to India in an interview. We read about such incidents in newspapers.”
Abhijeet’s mother Anita said she wants her son to stay away from politics and focus on finding a job instead.
“We want him to return home safely. It’s his decision whether he continues in politics or not, but we don’t want him to follow that. I don’t know if he will listen to us. I won’t support him on this issue. I’m worried about him,” he said.
The mother said Abhijeet initially studied in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and later moved to Pune for further studies. Engineering was difficult for him, he said, so he decided to turn to mass media.
Bhagwan added that Abhijeet decided to study journalism abroad because his sister was already there. The father said he wanted his son to get a job in Pune or Delhi.
Parents said they first learned about HKP from a neighbor. “Later, one of my grandsons told me that he had more followers on social media than many prominent people in the country. He was previously working in AAP. Even then, I had told him that we were not interested in politics and he should pursue some service,” Anita said.
Bhagwan said CJP’s outburst on social media worried him. “I’m worried because now he’s become famous. And such people are being arrested. I couldn’t sleep for the last two nights because I was worried about what might happen to him. I hate politics and I’m not interested.”
Using memes, the CJP platform quickly gained traction with its sharp political satire and commentary. Much of its content focuses on youth issues such as unemployment, exam paper leaks and education, and is packaged with graphics, animations, manifestos and contract-style demands.
