Cockroach Janata Party's rapid social media growth hits setback as X withholds account

The X account of satirical political outfit Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) has been withheld in India, just days after the group gained massive traction online and surpassed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Instagram following.

The account, operating under the username CJP_2029, is now displaying a notice that reads: “Account Withheld” along with the message, “@CJP_2029 has been withheld in IN in response to a legal demand.”

The development comes amid the rapid rise of the satirical outfit on social media platforms, where it has drawn attention for its humorous take on Indian politics.

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Founder reacts after account restriction

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janata Party, shared a screenshot of the restriction notice on social media.

“As expected Cockroach Janta Party’s account has been withheld in India,” he wrote in the caption.

The account restriction on X comes at a time when the group was witnessing sharp growth in online engagement and visibility.

CJP overtakes BJP on Instagram

The Cockroach Janata Party currently has 13.2 million followers on Instagram, according to figures mentioned by the outfit. In comparison, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s official Instagram account has 8.8 million followers.

The sudden rise in followers had brought significant attention to the satirical political page over the past few days.

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Why X withheld the account

X states that accounts or content may be withheld in specific countries if the platform receives a legal request from authorised entities.

According to the platform, such measures are taken if it receives a “valid and properly scoped request from an authorized entity” and when “it may be necessary to withhold access to certain content in a particular country from time to time”.

The platform further says, “Such withholdings will be limited to the specific jurisdiction that has issued the valid legal demand or where the content has been found to violate local law(s).”

The account remains visible outside India, while users accessing it within the country are seeing the withholding notice.