The Congress Party’s youth wing on Tuesday expanded its ‘Indian Youth Cockroaches’ campaign into what it called a ‘national youth resistance movement’, positioning it as a protest against newspaper leaks, unemployment and corruption – taking the name of the campaign from the viral online movement Cockroach Janta Party.
The move by the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) comes amid the rapid spread of the word “cockroach” across political discourse and online sarcasm. The Cockroach Janta Party itself takes its name from the word used recently by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant to refer to holders of fake degrees. The CJP said it is not partisan in its politics but remains committed to highlighting the alleged failures of the BJP regime.
Read also | ‘Just getting started’: Cockroach Janta Party sets out what’s next after massive response, calls for suggestions
IYC on unemployment and corruption
In a press release, the IYC accused the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Center of “leakage of papers, unemployment, corruption and institutional collapse” while choosing “arrogance over accountability”.
“Young people who raise their voices are labeled as ‘anti-national’, are imprisoned, intimidated, suspended from social media platforms and treated as enemies by the same government that promised them a future,” the statement claimed.
The organization further claimed that India’s youth had been “turned into ‘cockroaches’ by the government” and said it had “decided not to escape the humiliation”.
If the demand for jobs, justice and accountability “makes India’s youth ‘cockroaches’ in the eyes of the powers that be, then yes, we accept it with pride,” said Manish Sharma, IYC official.
He said: “These ‘cockroaches of Indian youth’ are Indian youth who refuse to remain silent, who continue to resist despite FIRs, imprisonment, intimidation and repression, and fearlessly stand with the people against corruption, paper leaks and unemployment. This movement is not just a campaign. It is a collective resistance of Indian youth who refuse to remain silent while their future is being destroyed.”
Read also | The ‘cockroach’ keeps crawling: Police action at Debki’s house, BJP ally’s ‘concerns’, and now an appeal in SC
“The struggle is not limited to social media”: IYC
“The battle of Indian youth’s cockroaches is not limited to social media,” IYC President Uday Bano Shib said.
“This is a mass resistance movement on the ground led by courageous IYC workers across the country. From paper leak protests to student movements, Youth Congress workers have consistently fought on the streets as the cockroaches of true resistance. We do not fear FIRs, imprisonment, intimidation, suspension of accounts or repression,” he said.
IYC has launched a ‘Sack Pradhan’ petition demanding accountability and resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged repeated paper leaks.
Manu Jain, IYF national secretary and head of its social media wing, said the campaign “represents the anger, frustration and resistance of an entire generation”.
“Through social media, AI-led campaigns and ground mobilization, we are building a national movement demanding jobs, justice and accountability,” he said.
According to the statement, IYC has launched AI-driven issue-based campaigns across its social media platforms, portraying youth resistance through the identity of ‘Indian Youth Cockroaches’ in protests against paper leaks, unemployment and corruption.
The organization also launched a digital platform calling on young Indians to register themselves as “cockroaches” in protest against the government.
The IYC said the campaign is being implemented under the “leadership of Rahul Gandhi”.
Meanwhile, Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar criticized the opposition parties for what he described as attempts to gain popularity while “doing nothing for the youth and children”.
