Get the latest news and updates from Dawn
“HOW does Muslim hate help me?” So spoke the youthful and prima facie well-meaning founder of the online Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP. Abhijeet Dipke was once an activist in the Aam Aadmi Party. He was trying to affirm that hate could not be the plank of his internet-based club, which is rapidly gaining members and has left the BJP behind in online popularity. There’s a humorous edge to the saga. To qualify as members, applicants need to be “unemployed, lazy, chronically online and be able to rant professionally”. To the extent that some of the features seem to be in line with other sarcastic and essentially crazy outfits flourishing in different corners of the world, the Cockroach party should have nothing to worry about regarding its future.
The Monster Raving Loony Party has been a satirical UK political party founded in 1983 by the musician and entertainer David “Screaming Lord” Sutch. It exists to mock mainstream politics, using absurdity and humour to highlight the perceived silliness of traditional parliamentary battles. In Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, there was a horse-riding candidate in the 1970s who called himself Dharti Pakad (grab the earth) and put his name on the ballot paper in several constituencies. However, since the CJP has waded into a palpably troubling vacuum because the main opposition parties have been struggling to confront the erring government without a workable plan to oust it, the occasion calls for unsparing scrutiny.
