Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee have expressed support for the satirical digital collective Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien said on Monday.
In a post on X, O’Brien said both leaders remained focused on “fighting the good fight” amid a series of internal review meetings following the TMC’s defeat in the West Bengal elections.
“Meaningful meetings all week with @mamataofficial and @abhishekaitc. Both focused on fighting the good fight. Steely resolve,” O’Brien wrote, adding: “Oh, and they both expressed their love and full support for the Cockroaches.”
From satirical page to online movement
The Kukruche Janta Party, founded by Boston-based Abhijit Deepki, gained traction on social media after its launch on May 16. The movement emerged in the wake of controversy over remarks attributed to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, which were widely interpreted online as comparing unemployed youth to “cockroaches”.
The group adopted the “cockroach” symbol as a form of digital protest and quickly built a strong online following through satirical mobilization and sarcasm. According to the organization’s website – which was later removed by authorities – membership requires applicants to be “unemployed, lazy, chronically online” and able to “scream professionally”.
Claims of repression and increased support
The CJP recently campaigned against alleged failures in the education sector, including the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak, and demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Debke claimed on Saturday that many of the movement’s social media accounts had become difficult to access as part of the crackdown. He also claimed that the group’s backup account had been briefly suspended and that his personal Instagram account had been hacked.
The outfit’s original X handle was blacked out in India on May 21. He later resurfaced with a new account called “Cockroach is Back”, which has amassed more than 2.27k followers.
