A week ago, nobody had heard of Abhijeet Dipke. Today, the Indian government appears to be doing everything it can to make sure nobody hears from him again.

Dipke, a 30-year-old political communications strategist from Pune currently studying at Boston University, launched the Cockroach Janta Party on May 16 — a satirical movement born out of frustration after India's Chief Justice Surya Kant made remarks comparing unemployed young people to cockroaches. Kant has since walked back the comments, saying he was referring specifically to those who obtain fraudulent degrees. But by then, the damage was done.

What followed was something few people expected.

Within seven days, CJP's Instagram account crossed 21.7 million followers — leaving behind the Bharatiya Janata Party, currently the world's largest political party by membership, which sits at 8.8 million. One million people signed up to join the movement. Over 600,000 signed a petition demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who has been under fire since allegations emerged that question papers for NEET — India's national medical entrance examination — were leaked ahead of the test, forcing its cancellation.

"Those in power think citizens are cockroaches and parasites. They should know that cockroaches breed in rotten places. That's what India is today." — Abhijeet Dipke, Founder, Cockroach Janta Party

The numbers alone made the movement impossible to ignore.

On May 23, the government responded.

India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology ordered X, formerly Twitter, to withhold CJP's account inside India under Section 69(A) of the Information Technology Act — a provision that allows the government to block content on grounds of national security and public order. Intelligence Bureau inputs reportedly flagged the account's viral engagement as a potential threat to national sovereignty.

The timing was hard to miss. Dipke was giving a live interview to the BBC when the account went down.

"By suppressing our voices, the BJP government is just exposing its autocracy to the world." — Abhijeet Dipke, via X

The crackdown did not stop there. CJP's official Instagram account was hacked. Dipke's personal Instagram was compromised as well. A backup account was taken down by the platform. The movement's official website went offline. Dipke warned followers publicly:

"Crackdown on Cockroach Janta Party. Instagram page hacked. My personal Instagram hacked. Twitter account withheld. Backup account also taken down. Please note that we currently do not have access to any of our platforms. Any post made after this should not be considered an official statement from the Cockroach Janta Party." — Abhijeet Dipke, via X

He also revealed he had received death threats on WhatsApp, posting screenshots publicly on X.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was among the prominent voices criticising the government's response, calling the blocks an unnecessary and disproportionate restriction on free expression. Protests under the CJP banner were also reported in Rohtak, Haryana.

The movement, however, did not fold. Within hours of the Twitter block, a new account — @CockroachIsBack — went live with a single tagline:

"Cockroaches Don't Die."

It picked up nearly 200,000 followers almost immediately.

"You can hack and withhold our accounts. But you cannot hack this movement. Every attack makes cockroaches stronger." — Abhijeet Dipke

The Indian government has not issued an official statement addressing the website shutdown or the hacking of CJP's social media accounts.