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‘What if all legal cockroaches came together?’: CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke recalls first post amid CJI-NALSAR row
Abhijeet Dipke has teased a possible campaign seeking the resignation of BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra.
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has brought back the slogan that launched his satirical movement, this time turning to the legal fraternity amid the ongoing row between the Bar Council of India (BCI) and NALSAR University of Law.
“What if all legal cockroaches come together?” Dipke posted on X, reacting to the BCI’s decision to temporarily halt the enrolment of NALSAR’s 2026 law graduates as advocates.
The BCI on Thursday directed state bar councils not to enrol any of the graduates after an alleged campaign by students opposing Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant’s invitation as chief guest at the university’s convocation. The council withdrew the blanket enrolment ban hours later.
From ‘all cockroaches’ to ‘legal cockroaches’
Dipke’s latest post carries a pointed reference to the origins of the CJP movement. The movement began in May after CJI Surya Kant, during a hearing, referred to the youth of the country as “cockroaches”.
Dipke, located in the US at the time, posted online the now-famous question: “What if all the cockroaches come together?” The post rapidly evolved into the Cockroach Janta Party, a satirical youth movement that went on to attract a large following and eventually organise protests.
Massive student-led demonstrations ultimately forced the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as Union education minister on July 25.
Dipke had earlier publicly thanked CJI Surya Kant for the remark that inspired the movement. He said at a Jantar Mantar protest that he would not have returned to India or started the campaign had he not been called a “cockroach”.
With the BCI-NALSAR controversy once again involving CJI Surya Kant, Dipke seems to have returned to the same metaphor.
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Dipke also appeared to tease a possible campaign seeking the resignation of BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra. “Time for Manan Mishra isteefa do? (resign)," he wrote on X.
‘Legal cockroaches unite’: CJP
The founder's post led to a response from CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das. “Much needed,” he said.
"The Bar Council of India needs to be looked into. Manan Mishra has been its Chairman since 2012. What has he done? Needs to be accounted for. All legal cockroaches, your task is cut out. Let’s fix BCI’s accountability. Let’s fix Mishra’s accountability. #LegalCockroachesUnite,” Das wrote on X.
CJP on the CJI-NALSAR controversy
Das separately criticised the BCI's action against the NALSAR graduates. He said it was “grossly disproportionate, deeply troubling, and prima facie indefensible”.
“Students cannot be collectively penalised for expressing dissent over a ceremonial invitation. The Cockroach Janta Party condemns this order,” Das said.
He also warned that if BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra did not withdraw the order, CJP would mobilise law students, advocates, senior lawyers and its supporters to protest outside the BCI office and Mishra’s official residence.
Mishra later responded to the protest threat: “Council has already withdrawn that letter.”
Das, though, claimed the order had not been fully withdrawn. He said the BCI’s new letter still sought the names of students and called for an inquiry against them.
“IMMEDIATELY withdraw that entire letter,” Das wrote on X and demanded no NALSAR student face an inquiry for expressing dissent against CJI Surya Kant.
He also said the CJP’s protest call would remain in place until the BCI withdrew the letter completely and assured that no action would be taken against the students.
What is the BCI-NALSAR row?
The row began after a section of NALSAR students objected to CJI Surya Kant being invited as chief guest for the university’s convocation.
A group of 70 final-year LLB students first submitted a representation on July 23, with students from other batches later supporting it. The students cited concerns over remarks made by the CJI during a Supreme Court hearing on alleged police violence against student protesters in Delhi.
On Thursday, the BCI responded by directing all state bar councils not to enrol any of NALSAR’s 2026 graduates and sought a report identifying those behind the campaign.
This triggered vast criticism over the collective enrolment freeze. Hours later, BCI chairman Mishra withdrew the blanket ban and said the vast majority of students were innocent and should not suffer for the actions of a few.
