India swats cockroach movement over 'national security'
What you need to know
- The Indian government had the 'cockroach' movement's X handle blocked citing 'national security' concerns
- The satirical Cockroach Janta Party's Instagram account may be blocked too, report says
- India prepares for state visit of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
- Representatives of the Quad grouping will convene in India on May 26
- India swelters amid heat wave warning
Here are the top headlines that have got India talking on Friday, May 22:
Skip next section CJP founder's parents lose sleep over possible legal trouble05/22/2026May 22, 2026CJP founder's parents lose sleep over possible legal trouble
The overnight popularity of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) Amid India's youth is giving Founder Abhijeet Dipke's parents sleepless nights, news agency PTI reported.
Bhagwan and Anita Dipke said they were overwhelmed by fears that their son could land in trouble or even face arrest.
The duo voiced their concerns a day after the CJP's X handle was blocked in India, reportedly on direction of the central government which has concerns that the CJP posed a "threat to the sovereignty of India."
Critics of the Narendra Modi-led government have previously argued that his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) uses anti-terror laws to target dissidents and activists, effectively curbing freedom of speech.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EAbWSkip next section India-US ties at a 'reinvigoration moment'05/22/2026May 22, 2026India-US ties at a 'reinvigoration moment'
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to arrive in Kolkata on Saturday to begin his three-day official visit.
His trip to India is likely to focus on defense, India's energy security, and the pending finalization of an India-US trade deal struck earlier this year.
Rubio's visit takes on special importance, not only amid the disruptions caused by the US-Israel war with Iran, but also because diplomatic ties between New Delhi and Washington have grown strained over the past year.
With all of this in mind, DW's India Bureau Chief, Sandra Petersmann, spoke with Vrinda Sahai, a research analyst at Carnegie India.
Addressing recent tensions between the two strategic partners, Sahai said that "this is not just a relationship of the short term. This is something that has been built up for decades. So, one disturbing year or one year with a little bit of bad energy is not enough to shake the ground on the India-US relationship."
"What I like to call it is we are at a reinvigoration moment. So, we might have an opportunity to introduce some new energy," she said.
"The faith in the long-standing, decades-long partnerships in defense, trade and technology is there. The foundations are not shaken. There are instances of disruptions," Sahai told DW.
Watch out for the full interview on the DW website and our social media channels.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EAWHSkip next section India generates record power to meet demand amid heat wave05/22/2026May 22, 2026India generates record power to meet demand amid heat wave
India's power producers are generating record amounts of electricity as residents of the world's most populous nation swelter amid an intense heat wave, the power ministry said.
Thursday was the "fourth consecutive day when the peak power demand reached a new all-time high," the ministry said in a statement on X. At the time the post was published, temperatures sizzled at 45.3 degrees Celsius (113.54 degrees Fahrenheit) in the capital, New Delhi.
"This represents a new high in peak demand met," the ministry said, surpassing Wednesday's record.
"The surge in demand appears to be linked to the greater usage of cooling appliances in view of the prevailing weather conditions across the country," it said.
About 62% of the record power generation was met by thermal power, largely coal. Solar power accounted for another 22%, and wind and hydropower accounted for 5% each.
India is the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases. While it has committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2070, it remains heavily reliant on coal.
Despite the ministry's statement on power production, followers of the ministry's X account reported cuts in their districts. The intense heat can overload old wiring and transformers and cause localized blackouts.
Earlier this week, India's weather agency warned of persistent heat waves across northwestern, central and eastern India. Maximum temperatures in certain pockets have risen over 48 degrees Celsius.
Schoolgirls in Jharkhand invent green tech to beat blackouts
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https://p.dw.com/p/5EAUSSkip next section Quad diplomats to meet in Delhi amid Rubio's visit05/22/2026May 22, 2026Quad diplomats to meet in Delhi amid Rubio's visit
Diplomats of the Quad nations — US, Japan, Australia and India — are to hold a meeting in New Delhi on May 26, on the last day of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to India.
India's foreign ministry said the Quad meeting will include India's External Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the Foreign Minister of Australia, Penny Wong, the Foreign Minister of Japan, Toshimitsu Motegi, and the US' Rubio.
"They will exchange views on advancing Quad cooperation across priority areas, review progress on ongoing Quad initiatives, and reflect on recent developments in the Indo-Pacific region and other international issues of mutual concern," the statement said.
The Quad, or the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, is an informal security group made up of the US, India, Japan and Australia with the stated aim of maintaining a "free and open Indo-Pacific." That goal has taken on special importance after the US-Israeli war with Iran caused severe restrictions to global trade in the region.
The foreign ministers of Japan and Australia will also hold bilateral talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their visit.
Meanwhile, Rubio is set to tour four Indian cities between May 23 and May 26, including Kolkata in the east, Agra in the north, Jaipur in the west and in the capital, New Delhi. He is also to hold bilateral discussion with Modi.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EAPJSkip next section What is the CJP and what was it posting? 05/22/2026May 22, 2026What is the CJP and what was it posting?
The ‘cockroach’ movement began earlier this week, as a satirical criticism towards the Chief Justice of India who likening some of India’s youth to "parasites" and "cockroaches."
"There are youngsters like cockroaches who do not get any employment…some of them become media, some become social media, some RTI activists, and they start attacking everyone," he had said.
Within a day, Cockroach Janta Party — whose name is a play on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — founder Abhijeet Dipke asked, "What if all cockroaches come together?"
Up came the parody website with a five-point manifesto, promising to clamp down on corruption, inter-party defection, and increasing women's representation in the Indian parliament.
The satirical party has so far criticized the BJP over allegations of corruption, lack of employment and more recently the cancelation of the all-India pre-medical entrance exams which has reportedly led to student suicides, as per Indian media.
The group has also accused Modi's BJP of attempting to hack into the its Instagram account several times since Tuesday.
'Cockroaches' criticize entrance exam cancelation
On Friday, Dipke posted video on the Cockroach Janta Party's account, saying "I think it's time to do some real work."
He launched a petition to have India's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan sacked over the entrance exam cancellation.
"It is the system's fault which has spoiled the future of 2.2 million students across India. It is the system's fault that NEET students have committed suicide," he said, asking fellow "cockroaches" to sign the petition.
The NEET-UG examinations were cancelled on May 12 after students had already taken the exam amid allegations of leaked papers. The high-pressure exam is set to be reconducted in June, but students across India have been impacted by the developments. As per Indian media reports, at least two students have committed suicide due to the cancelation.
DW attempted to reach out to BJP via its spokesperson but has not yet received a response.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EAHQSkip next section Cockroach Janta Party's X handle blocked over 'national security' concerns — report05/22/2026May 22, 2026Cockroach Janta Party's X handle blocked over 'national security' concerns — report
The Indian government directed social media platform X to block the satirical Cockroach Janta Party handle in India, citing "national security concerns," The Indian Express daily reported on Friday.
According to the report, the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi received information from India's Intelligence Bureau (IB) that raised concerns around the account. India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) then directed the X social media platform to withhold the satirical account.
India has a legal framework that allows the government to intervene directly in online content by ordering platforms to remove or block content on grounds such as threats to national security or disruptions to public order.
These directives are legally binding but are not made public.
“MeitY received an input from the IB to block the X account of Cockroach Janta Party, citing that it posed a threat to the sovereignty of India. The IB believed that the account was posting inflammatory content through its account, which could have jeopardized the country’s national security," The Indian Express cited an anonymous government official as saying.
“In particular, the concern stemmed from the fact that the account’s content was gaining traction among young people," the official reportedly said.
The report said the government had sent the order to X when the account had merely 90,000 followers, citing a second government official. The 'CJP_2029' handle had over 200,000 followers when the account was finally blocked.
The parody party's main presence, however, is on a different social media platform. It had nearly 20 million followers on Instagram on Friday morning, mostly gathered over the last three days. That's more than double the 9 million followers Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party — the largest political party in the world — has on Instagram, .
“However, it is likely that the Instagram account would also be blocked, and that process is currently underway,” the senior official said.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EAHHSkip next section Welcome to our coverage05/22/2026May 22, 2026Welcome to our coverage
Mahima Kapoor | Saim Dušan Inayatullah EditorGood morning! and welcome to DW's India news blog.
This is Mahima Kapoor from the New Delhi bureau, and I’ll be your guide through India’s biggest headlines, political drama and everything else making news across the country today.
Much of northern, central and eastern India is sweltering amid heat waves and there is no respite in sight. India's weather agency said in its latest forecast. Maximum temperatures are likely to persist till May 27, so stay hyderated and keep out of the sun when possible.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has recently returned from a five-nation tour to the UAE and Europe, is facing political heat over a growing 'cockroach' movement led by Gen Z internet users. The parody Cockroach Janta Party's X handle was blocked in India over "national security" concerns and reports say its Instagram handle may be in danger too.
Meanwhile, India is preparing to recieve US Secretary fo State Marco Rubio for a three-day state visit starting tomorrow. On his last day in India, Rubio will be joined by other representatives of the Quad grouping — which includes India, the US, Japan and Australia — according to Japan's external ministry.
We will discuss all of this and more. Stay tuned!
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