Low-caste youth becomes leader of Cockroach BJP, Dipke challenges Modi government

(Central News Agency, New Delhi, Comprehensive Foreign Reports on the 10th) Indian police today detained Dipke, the founder and leader of the online movement "Cockroach People's Party". Born in a lower caste, he turned the word "cockroach" that mocked unemployed youth into a nationwide protest movement, which prompted the then Education Minister to resign and put political pressure on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Reuters reported that 31-year-old Abhijeet Dipke comes from a Dalit family, the lowest level of the Indian caste system. In May this year, Chief Justice Surya Kant of the Supreme Court of India compared unemployed young people to "cockroaches". Deepke responded with a post on social media, and his post quickly went viral.

Deepke said at the time: "What if all the cockroaches united?" This post made Deepke, a political communication professional, become one of the most high-profile figures in India's youth protest movement almost overnight.

His post spawned the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), an online movement that quickly grew into a political force.

The CJP mobilized large numbers of people to take to the streets to demonstrate, ultimately prompting the then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign in July. Few officials in Narendra Modi's government have resigned due to sustained public pressure.

Before his detention today, Dipke had called on people to stage renewed protests and demand the resignation of Election Commission Chairman Gyanesh Kumar over controversies related to electoral reforms.

The bearded Dipke, who usually wears a T-shirt and jeans, first led protests in the southern technology town of Bengaluru and then flew to the capital, where he was detained by the police along with two other CJP senior officials, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka.

Despite a strong crackdown by Delhi police and strict restrictions on protests, Deepke called on supporters to demonstrate peacefully and follow the example of India's non-violent movement, Mahatma Gandhi.

Deepak returned to India after completing a master's degree in public relations in the United States. He pointed out that despite the threats to himself and his family, becoming popular online gave him "the opportunity to do truly meaningful work."