The move is a ‘blatant violation’ of constitutional rights and an attempt to criminalise political satire in the country, says Samyukt Kisan Morcha
NEW DELHI — The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has strongly condemned the banning of social media handles linked to the “Cockroach Janta Party” (CJP), describing the move as a “blatant violation of constitutional rights” and an attempt to criminalise political satire in the country.
In a statement on Tuesday, the farmers’ body said the viral youth-led satirical digital movement had emerged in response to an “unwanted and indecent remark” allegedly made by India’s Chief Justice. It also accused the government of invoking “national security” to suppress dissent and online criticism.
In the sharply worded statement, SKM said freedom of speech and expression is guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and includes the right to political satire, criticism and dissent.
“Labelling a platform built around internet culture, memes and youth humour as a ‘national threat’ is nothing but an attempt to weaponise the idea of national security to silence democratic expression,” the organisation said.
Drawing parallels with the 2020–21 farmers’ agitation, SKM alleged that the Narendra Modi government was once again resorting to the same tactics used during the historic Delhi border protests, when protesting farmers were branded “anti-national,” “Pakistanis,” and “Khalistanis.”
The organisation said the Modi government was repeating the same pattern by targeting youth voices instead of addressing pressing concerns such as unemployment, educational corruption and examination paper leaks.
“Rather than responding to the genuine anxieties of young people and farmers over unemployment, indebtedness, MSP and repeated paper leak scandals, the government has once again chosen intimidation and vilification,” SKM said.
The farmers’ body noted that the parody group had reportedly amassed over 20 million followers within a week through memes, AI-generated images and satirical campaigns highlighting issues such as soaring youth unemployment, inflation, the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak controversy and the sharp decline in the CBSE Class 12 pass percentage, which fell to a seven-year low of 85.20 percent.
According to SKM, the crackdown coincided with a massive online campaign launched by the platform demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG paper leak scandal. The petition reportedly gathered more than 600,000 digital signatures.
Calling the government’s response “hypocritical,” SKM said authorities acted swiftly to shut down youth-led social media accounts while failing to ensure accountability for “millions of students affected by systemic educational corruption.”
The organisation also pointed out that a large number of students affected by unemployment and examination irregularities come from farming families already struggling with economic distress.
“Students and youth from farmer households are equally victims of institutional corruption and mass unemployment,” SKM said.
The farmers’ body further alleged that the government became “deeply rattled” after the movement’s online popularity surpassed the official social media reach of the ruling establishment.
“By silencing a movement the moment its digital influence began overtaking official narratives, the government has exposed its intolerance toward spontaneous and non-traditional youth political mobilisation,” the statement added.
