Follow up
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement, sparked in May 2026 after Chief Justice Surya Kant’s remark likening unemployed youth to “cockroaches,” quickly grew into a nationwide student uprising led by Abhijeet Dipke, whose satirical party amassed over 17 million Instagram followers. Major ground protests began on June 6 at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, followed by state-wide mobilizations across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Amritsar, Jaipur, and Nagpur, culminating in the “Chalo Sansad” march in Delhi. On July 20, clashes erupted during a Parliament march, leading to detentions and heightened tensions.
Flashpoints included the temporary suspension of CJP’s Instagram account, Sonam Wangchuk’s 26-day hunger strike that forced government talks, and demands for Pradhan’s resignation, ₹1 crore compensation for families of students lost to suicide, and protection for peaceful demonstrators—cementing the protests as a defining moment in India’s youth-led political activism.
On July 23, 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Instagram reel on anti‑paper leak measures shattered global records with 303 million views in 24 hours, surpassing IShow Speed’s BTS reel, drawing 16 million likes, 1.5 million comments, and nearly 1 million new followers overnight, followed by a July 24 reel thanking youth for their “insightful suggestions” that amassed 110 million views and 1 million new followers in less than a day, as Modi urged ministers to embrace Reels to connect with Gen Z and announced fast‑track courts and stricter punishments for paper leak cases.
