NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder, Abhijeet Dipke, on Monday took a sarcastic dig at the planned burning of a 30-foot-tall cockroach effigy alongside Ravan during Dussehra celebrations on October 20 in Delhi, saying, “Thank you for the free publicity.”The Shri Keshav Ramlila Committee is set to burn the cockroach effigy alongside the traditional effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad at its grounds in Pitampura. The preparation for the event is underway, with the committee saying the initiative is intended to spread awareness about cleanliness and unhygienic conditions.
What has the committee said?
Ashok Goel Devaraha, president of the Shri Keshav Ramlila Committee and BJP MLA from Model Town, said the cockroach effigy was meant to symbolise filth and reinforce the message of the triumph of good over evil.Devaraha told ANI that the committee had previously burnt effigies representing issues such as Naxalism and terrorism. This year, it chose a cockroach to highlight the need to eliminate dirt and unhygienic conditions from homes, neighbourhoods and society.
He also denied that the decision was politically motivated, saying the initiative aligned with the Swachh Bharat and Swachh Delhi campaigns.
How did ‘cockroach’ become a political name?
The planned effigy comes amid the rise of the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a movement that emerged following remarks by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant during a Supreme Court hearing on May 15. The CJI had compared certain individuals with fraudulent degrees who become social media or RTI activists to “cockroaches” attacking the system.The remarks triggered a backlash among young people and inspired the CJP movement. The CJI later said his oral remarks had been “misquoted” and used with “malicious intent”.The CJP has since staged protests against former Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and is now demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.