Satirical ‘Cockroach Janata Party’ demands Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over NEET paper leak

The satirical “Cockroach Janata Party” relaunched its X handle with the tagline “Cockroaches Never Die” and began a campaign demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over the NEET-UG 2026 paper-leak controversy

New Delhi: Back with the tagline “Cockroaches Never Die” after its original X handle was withheld in India, the satirical social-media account “Cockroach Janata Party” (CJP) launched a campaign on Friday demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

The campaign, spearheaded through CJP’s new X handle — “Cockroach Is Back” — and its Instagram platform, centres on alleged systemic failures in the education sector, particularly concerns surrounding the NEET-UG 2026 paper-leak controversy.

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CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke urged followers to support an online petition demanding Pradhan’s resignation. In a video message, he said:
“Today, we are starting a petition demanding the resignation of the education minister. It is time to make the system accountable. Over 22 lakh students’ futures were impacted, and NEET students even committed suicide. Whatever happens, Dharmendra Pradhan will have to resign.”

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate), held on May 3, was cancelled by the National Testing Agency (NTA) amid allegations of a paper leak. The matter is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), with a re-test scheduled for June 21.

Dipke also claimed to have received threats amid the campaign, posting: “Receiving death threats now.”

The resignation campaign followed the withholding of the original CJP handle in India by X. Dipke launched a new handle with the tagline “Cockroaches Never Die”, calling the government’s move a “self-goal.”

According to Dipke, the original handle had more than two lakh followers. Within 24 hours of its relaunch, the new handle had 1.65 lakh followers. On Instagram, CJP crossed 20.5 million followers, surpassing both BJP (9.1 million) and Congress (13.4 million).

The satirical platform emerged after remarks attributed to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant regarding “cockroaches” and “parasites” were misquoted. What began as satire has evolved into a wider conversation on digital dissent, unemployment, exam leaks, and youth frustration.

The rapid rise has drawn attention from meme creators, activists, and politicians including Mahua Moitra, Kirti Azad, Akhilesh Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, and Anjali Bharadwaj.

Criticism of the handle’s blocking has come from leaders such as Priyanka Chaturvedi, Sanjay Raut, Dipankar Bhattacharya, and Yogendra Yadav. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor called the move “foolish in a democracy,” adding: “I prefer satire to chaos, anarchy or revolution. Let’s lift the ban and tune in.”

Digital-rights group Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) also condemned the blocking under Section 69A of the IT Act, calling it a “blatant misuse of State power” and urging transparency in censorship orders.