Vir Das on Cockroach Janta Party crackdown: Dumb move to shut down their accounts

Vir Das called the alleged crackdown on Cockroach Janata Party social media accounts a "dumb move," saying it only strengthened the movement, after founder Abhijeet Dipke claimed several CJP accounts were hacked or withheld.

In Short

• Vir Das comments on crackdown boosting Cockroach Janata Party's online visibility
• CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke reported hacking and account withholding
• Dipke warned against trusting posts from compromised accounts

Vir Das has reacted to the alleged crackdown on the Cockroach Janata Party social media accounts, calling attempts to shut them down an “utterly dumb move” that only ended up strengthening the movement’s legitimacy online.

His reaction came shortly after CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke alleged that several accounts linked to the group had either been hacked or withheld.

Reacting to the situation on X on Saturday, Vir wrote, “Whether the cockroach janta party is a legitimate movement or not, is not the question. Time will tell. But the traction they received, the sentiment behind it, the rhetoric from the youth, all legitimate. And if all that wasn’t legit enough, the utterly dumb move of shutting down their accounts legitimised everything (sic).”

Earlier, Abhijeet Dipke had alleged that both the organisation’s and his personal social media accounts had come under attack. In a post on X, he wrote, “Crackdown on Cockroach Janta Party. - Instagram page hacked. - My personal Instagram hacked. - Twitter account withheld - Back up account also taken down (sic).”

He further urged people not to trust any posts appearing from those accounts, stating that the team currently did not have access to any of their platforms and that any posts made after that should not be treated as official statements from the Cockroach Janata Party.

The political movement was launched on May 16 by Abhijeet Dipke following a remark by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.

A few days ago, the founder had also shared a screenshot indicating that the CJP X account had been withheld in India in response to a reported legal demand. Sharing the image, he wrote, “As expected Cockroach Janta Party’s account has been withheld in India.”

Vir Das had then reposted the update with the comment, “It’s giving full Streisand effect.”

The Streisand Effect refers to situations where efforts to censor or suppress information end up amplifying public attention toward it instead.

On the work front, Vir Das recently made his directorial debut and was also seen in Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos, produced by Aamir Khan. The film is currently streaming on Netflix.

- Ends