Shashi Tharoor on need of Cockroach Janta Party: ‘Like valves on a pressure-cooker’

COngress MP Shashi Tharoor on fri doubled land on his remarks mount the viral satiric turnout Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), saying suppressing such movements in a democracy would be “foolish” and warning that ignoring youth frustration could prove “disastrous”.In a fresh series of posts on X, the Thiruvananthapuram MP defended his earlier comments praising the emergence of the meme-driven political satire movement, which has exploded across social media platforms in recent days.‘Democracy needs outlets for frustration’“I welcome the pushback to my post and interview on the #CockroachJantaParty phenomenon,” Tharoor wrote, responding to criticism that the movement was allegedly being amplified artificially or linked to Pakistani-backed online activity. Tharoor said such claims were “too simplistic”, pointing to counter-claims by CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke that a vast majority of the movement’s followers were based in India. He added that social media platform Instagram should “put the record straight”.However, the Congress leader stressed that the larger issue was not who created the movement, but what it represented.“Democracy’s great virtue is the outlets it provides for public sentiment, frustration and grievances. Letting these be aired on a satirical site IS in the national interest,” Tharoor wrote.He further argued that the movement had tapped into “an important strain of national sentiment among our youth” and urged both the government and opposition parties to address the underlying anger instead of attempting to suppress it.‘I prefer satire to chaos’Using a pressure cooker analogy, Tharoor said such movements function as democratic safety valves.“Such movements serve like the valves on a pressure-cooker, letting off steam. If the valves were closed, the cooker would explode under the pressure. I prefer satire to chaos, anarchy or revolution,” he wrote.Calling for the suspension on X to be revoked, he added: “Let’s lift the ban and tune in!”Tharoor says remarks were not pro-CongressIn another post, Tharoor clarified that his remarks were not intended as partisan support for the Congress.“And to those who pointed out that @abhijeet_dipke is equally critical of the Congress, I was not seeking to make a narrow party case but a broader political point,” he wrote, while sharing an article by political commentator Rasheed Kidwai on the challenges facing the Opposition.Tharoor had earlier described the movement as an “opportunity that the Opposition must seize”, arguing that it reflected genuine frustration among India’s youth and showed the need for mainstream politics to reconnect with younger voters.What is the Cockroach Janta Party?The Cockroach Janta Party, founded by Dipke after outrage over remarks by Chief Justice Surya Kant comparing some unemployed youth to “cockroaches” and “parasites”, has rapidly grown into one of India’s biggest online satire movements.The outfit describes itself as the “Voice of the Lazy & Unemployed” and uses parody manifestos, memes and online campaigns to channel frustration over unemployment, rising costs and political disillusionment among young Indians.Within days of its launch, the group amassed millions of followers on social media and even drew engagement from politicians across party lines, including Trinamool Congress MPs Mahua Moitra and Kirti Azad.