NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing social media chatter over the ‘Cockroach Janta Party’, which was founded as a satirical response to his remark on people who “attack the system”, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant advised a lawyer not to take the issue “sentimentally”.
Fixing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the bench, the lawyer argued that a malicious narrative was being spread to malign the image of the judiciary, despite a detailed clarification issued by the Chief Justice himself. The PIL sought direct judicial intervention to ensure courtroom exchanges are not misused for commercial or political propaganda. A separate petition also demanded an official investigation into the online activities associated with the group.
When the lawyer pointed out that a distorted and malicious narrative was continuously being pushed even after the court’s clarification, Chief Justice Surya Kant simply replied, “Don’t take it so sentimentally.” The bench subsequently turned down the plea for an urgent hearing on the matter.
The controversy originally erupted following the Chief Justice’s verbal remarks during a court session on May 15, which instantly triggered the online pushback under the banner of the ‘Cockroach Janta Party’. The CJI had pulled up a young lawyer who filed a petition regarding the criteria for designation as a Senior Advocate. Questioning the propriety of the petition, the CJI had remarked, “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 or have any place in the profession. Some of them become media, some of them become social media, RTI activists and other activists, and they start attacking everyone.”
Following widespread public outrage over the choice of words, the Chief Justice later clarified that the narrative suggesting he criticized the general youth of the nation was “totally baseless”. He explained that his remarks were strictly directed against individuals who sneak into noble professions like law, media, and social media using fake and bogus degrees, describing them as parasites on the system. He emphasized that he remains deeply proud of India’s youth and human resources.
The satirical campaign gained momentum after Abhijeet Dipke, a 30-year-old activist from Maharashtra currently residing in the US, announced a digital platform dedicated to the dubbed “cockroaches” as a sign of peaceful protest. However, the official X account of the ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ was withheld in India on Thursday following orders from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), which cited national security concerns flagged by the Intelligence Bureau. Unfazed by the ban, Dipke immediately launched a backup handle named ‘Cockroach is back’, urging citizens to rejoin the movement.
(With inputs from IE)
For more details: Navamalayalam.com