No permission for human chain protest called by Cockroach Janta Party: Bengaluru police

Bengaluru police on Friday (May 22, 2026) cautioned against gathering for a “peaceful human chain” near Town Hall in the heart of the city after a purported invite poster began circulating on social media under the heading “Cockroach Janta Party Karnataka,” a satirical online outfit.

In the purported poster, the outfit invited people to join a peaceful human chain near Town Hall on Sunday (May 24, 2026). The poster read: “All cockroaches and fans of the Cockroach Janata Party, join us to demonstrate our power and send out a message to the self-decepted administration.”

It also carried the tagline, “Not just online, it’s time to show power in the streets.”

Soon after, the Bengaluru City Police issued a statement saying that no person had obtained permission to conduct such a demonstration, nor had anyone sought permission from the Greater Bengaluru Authority.

The police said such a demonstration cannot be held on the streets, as it would violate a High Court order stating that protests should only be held at Freedom Park.

“The public is advised not to knowingly or unknowingly forward or share the said message through social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, X, etc., and not to gather near Town Hall,” the BCP noted.

The purported poster also carried an image depicting cockroaches walking towards Vidhana Soudha holding posters that read “Namma Hakku”.

“Come, cockroaches; let’s send out a message. There is no leader here; we are our own leaders. There is no organisation here; citizens joining hands is itself an organisation,” it said.

The CJP is a satirical political movement founded on May 16 by Abhijeet Dipke, former political strategist for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The platform was started in response to CJI Surya Kant’s comment describing young, unemployed Indians as “cockroaches”. Later, the CJI issued a clarification saying that the media “misquoted” him.