Fascism: Mahua Moitra after Cockroach Party 'flagged as national security threat'

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Friday accused the Centre of stifling dissent after the X account of "Cockroach Janata Party", a satirical social media page that emerged in the wake of recent remarks by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, was withheld in India.

Reacting to the development, Moitra wrote on X, "Fascism Not Democracy. Our government is so scared of the youth of this country that it can’t even bear a virtual online movement. Please realise what odds we in the Opposition fight on a daily basis".

Her remarks came after an Indian Express report said the Centre had directed X to withhold the account following inputs from the Intelligence Bureau (IB), which flagged "national security concerns".

According to the report, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) invoked Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, to seek action against the account.

Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also questioned the takedown, calling the move "disastrous and deeply unwise".

"I understand the frustrations of the youth and see why they are resonating with it. This is precisely why the account being withheld on X is disastrous and deeply unwise - there should be an outlet for the youth to express their feelings and so, let CJP’s account function instead of shutting it down! Democracies need outlets for dissent, humour, satire and even frustration," Tharoor said in a post on X.

Tharoor also hoped that the youth behind the movement will successfully bring the energy into mainstreamm.

"I am uncertain about the future of this movement but I hope the youngsters behind it find a way to bring this energy into mainstream politics or perhaps express it through their vote to be a voice of change and in doing so, become impossible to ignore. This is an opportunity that the Opposition must seize," the Congress leader added.

Even Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia extended his support for the Cockroach Janata Party, alleging that the current system is filled with 'crocodiles'.

"When it's a war between the Crocodile and the Cockroaches. I proudly stand with the Cockroach Janta Party," he said in a post on Instagram.

ALL ABOUT COCKROACH JANATA PARTY

The satirical handle had gained massive traction online within days of its launch last week. The page was created after controversy erupted over remarks attributed to Chief Justice Surya Kant during a court hearing, in which terms such as 'parasites' and 'cockroaches' were used while criticising a lawyer seeking senior designation.

The Chief Justice later clarified that he had been misquoted and said his comments were aimed specifically at individuals entering the legal profession with "fake and bogus degrees".

The satirical online campaign appeared a day after the May 15 controversy and quickly drew attention from politicians, activists, artists and large numbers of social media users. Cockroach Janata Party's X handle had amassed over 2 lakh followers before access to it was restricted in India on Thursday.

Soon after the takedown, another X account titled "Cockroach Is Back" surfaced online. Within a little over an hour of its launch, the account had already gathered nearly 17,000 followers.

While the X account has been withheld in India, the group's Instagram page continues to remain active and has amassed over 14 million followers. One of its posts compared its follower count with that of the official Instagram handle of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has approximately 8.8 million followers on the Meta-owned platform.