X Blocks Account of Satire Outfit 'Cockroach Janata Party' as IB Raises 'National Security Concerns'

New Delhi: The social media giant X on Thursday (May 21) withheld the account of satirical political outfit Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) hours after it gained 8.8 million followers on Instagram, overtaking the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) 8.7 million follower. At the time of writing this report, the BJP has 8.8 million followers on Instagram while the CJP has 13.4 million followers.

A senior government official told The Indian Express that the account was blocked after Intelligence Bureau (IB) raised “national security concerns”.

“MeitY [Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology] received an input from the IB to block the X account of Cockroach Janta Party, citing that it posed a threat to the sovereignty of India. The IB believed that the account was posting inflammatory content through its account, which could have jeopardised the country’s national security.” the official was quoted as saying by IE on conditions of anonymity. “In particular, the concern stemmed from the fact that the account’s content was gaining traction among young people.”

The account was withheld under Section 69 (A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which allows the Union government to order the blocking of public access to online information. This applies to websites, apps, and social media posts, primarily to protect national security, public order, and sovereignty.

Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the party announced on X that the party's account, started on May 16, was blocked on X after it gained over 200k followers. Later, he announced that the outfit has launched another account @Cockroachisback.

"As expected Cockroach Janta Party’s account has been withheld in India," Dipke, the 30-year-old based in Boston, US, wrote in a post on X.

In another post, he added, "Own goal."

In a third post, he wrote, "Cockroach Janta Party’s account was started on 16th May. Within 4 days the account got banned because it got more than 200K following."

Now attempts being made to hack Instagram pic.twitter.com/doFskK9D7Z

— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) May 21, 2026

Follow now! https://t.co/cP2UHq4akq

— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) May 21, 2026

Notably, the BJP which started its account on X in October, 2010 has 23 million followers and the Congress which has an account on the social media platform since February, 2013 has 11.5 million followers.

Dipke also claimed that attempts are being made to hack the party's Instagram account as well.

The idea of this party originated after May 15 when Chief Justice of India Surya Kant called youngsters "cockroaches"and "parasites" during a hearing while referring to a lawyer's social media account.

“There are already parasites of society who attack the system and you want to join hands with them? There are youngsters like cockroaches, who don’t get any employment and don’t have any place in 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…and you people file contempt petitions!” the CJI had said.

Later, the CJI issued a clarification saying that the media "misquoted" him.

“I am pained to read how a section of the media has misquoted my oral observations made during the hearing of a frivolous case yesterday. What I had specifically criticised were those who have entered professions like the Bar (legal profession) with the aid of fake and bogus degrees. Similar persons have sneaked into the media, social media, and other noble professions as well, and hence, they are like parasites,” said the CJI, reported LiveLaw.

This article is updated with the quote of a senior government official and republished at 11.15 am on May 22, 2026. 

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