Political parties splitting may be a familiar feature of Indian democracy, but a split in a satirical movement like the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) is certainly unusual. The CJP witnessed a split on Thursday
after Manish Brahmbhatt, who expressed anger over the way the movement’s leadership team was constituted, announced the launch of the Cockroach Janata Party-Democratic (CJP-D).
Brahmbhatt accused the CJP leadership, led by Abhijit Dipke, of “selling out” the movement after its success and claimed that it had now turned into “Team Kejriwal”.
He objected to the formation of a 12-member team, alleging that volunteers and protesters who were part of the movement were neither consulted nor given a role in the selection process.
“Today, we are launching the ‘Cockroach Janata Party Democratic’… Why did we have to do this? The movement belonged to the nation; it succeeded because people poured their blood and sweat into it. However, after the movement succeeded, it was sold out and politicised. It has now become ‘Team Kejriwal’ because Abhijit Dipke and the others formed a 12-member team while sitting in the comfort of their homes,” Brahmbhatt said.
He alleged that none of the volunteers or protesters were consulted after the movement’s success, nor were people associated with it through social media platforms asked for their views on the team’s composition.
“After the movement’s success, not a single volunteer or protester was invited or consulted for their opinion. Nor were the people connected via social media or Instagram asked about the necessary criteria,” he said.
Brahmbhatt further alleged that eight members of the newly formed team were associated with the Aam Aadmi Party, while others included a female friend and college friends. He said he wanted the organisation to have a nationwide structure, with representation from protesters and volunteers from different states.
“We wanted this to be a national team—one that included five people from every state, specifically selecting protesters and volunteers from those regions,” Brahmbhatt said.
He also claimed that the selection process should not be controlled by a “high command” or an arbitrary authority.
Brahmbhatt further linked the formation of the team to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and accused him of being “deceitful from the very beginning”. “The idea behind forming this team also originated with Arvind Kejriwal, as he has been deceitful from the very beginning. When the Anna movement began, he exploited Anna,” he alleged.
The split comes after the CJP-led movement gained attention over its protests against paper leaks that led to the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as Union Education Minister.
