The Cockroach Janta Party, an unregistered online outfit founded by Boston University student Abhijeet Dipke, has taken the nation by storm with its satirical memes and political commentary.
With over 20 million Instagram followers, the CJP has surpassed the ruling BJP and main Opposition Congress, but its rise has also attracted the attention of the government and cybercriminals.
Police are guarding Dipke's home in Maharashtra, and he has received threats, including a video claiming that individuals have reached outside his home.
Union ministers and top leaders have made cross-border allegations, with some calling the CJP a "foreign operation" and others labeling it "Pakistan Janta Party."
However, not all allies within the NDA have been combative, with the TDP's Andhra Pradesh unit president saying that some concerns raised by the CJP "have to be taken into consideration."
A man has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a CBI investigation into the CJP, arguing that oral courtroom remarks made by CJI Surya Kant are being used for commercial use.
Away from its own troubles, the CJP "movement" has spawned a secondary scam ecosystem, with phishing links posing as CJP membership invitations circulating on WhatsApp.
