The Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) Instagram account was blocked in India for around two hours in the early hours of Saturday, while remaining accessible outside the country. CJP said the account was subsequently recovered and restored later in the day.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), founder Abhijeet Dipke wrote, "They took down the official Instagram handle of Cockroach Janta Party."
Resharing the thread, the party said it had recovered the account and alleged that those opposed to the CJP had chosen Independence Day to “muzzle” its voice. “We will not be intimidated by such cowardly acts,” the party said in a post on X.
The CJP also shared a screenshot showing a message on Instagram that read, "This page isn’t available at the moment. This may be because of a technical error that we’re working to get fixed. Try reloading this page.”
However, Meta did not respond to queries about why the account was inaccessible in India. It could not be determined whether the restriction was due to the company’s community guidelines or legal requirements.
This is the second time the CJP’s Instagram account has been blocked in India. It was briefly inaccessible on July 22 as well, with a CJP spokesperson saying no legal notice had been served at the time.
The development follows the withholding of the party’s X handle, @CJP_2029, in India from May 21 to July 7 under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act. The CJP had moved the Delhi High Court seeking restoration of its X account.
The CJP had also recently led a 37-day protest at Jantar Mantar against NEET paper leaks and examination irregularities, which resulted in the resignation of the then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
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In recent weeks, the Gen Z outfit has undertaken several campaigns on issues concerning students and young people, including the condition of government and village schools. It has also sought to put youth-related issues on the national agenda ahead of Independence Day.
As part of its campaign, the CJP urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the country’s youth in his Independence Day message, raising questions about unemployment, education and concerns affecting young people.