New Delhi, May 26 : With the word "cockroach" having gained wide traction in the wake of online satire, the Indian Youth Congress on Tuesday said that it is expanding its 'Indian Youth cockroaches campaign' into a "nationwide youth resistance movement".
In a press release, IYC alleged that India's youth are "battling paper leaks, unemployment, corruption and institutional collapse" and that "the Modi government has chosen arrogance over accountability".
"Young people who raise their voice are labelled 'anti-national' jailed, intimidated, suspended from social media platforms and treated like enemies by the very government that promised them a future," the release alleged.
It alleged that India's youth "have been reduced to 'cockroaches' by the government" and that IYC has "decided not to run away from the insult".
IYC in-charge Manish Sharma said if demanding jobs, justice and accountability "makes India's youth 'cockroaches' in the eyes of powers, then yes, we proudly accept it".
"These 'Indian Youth Cockroaches' are young Indians who refuse to stay silent, who continue resisting despite FIRs, jail, intimidation and repression, and who stand fearlessly with the people against corruption, paper leaks and unemployment. This movement is not just a campaign. It is a collective resistance of young Indians who refuse to stay silent while their future is destroyed," he said.
IYC President Uday Bhanu Chib said the "fight of Indian Youth Cockroaches is not limited to social media".
"This is a mass resistance movement on the ground led by fearless IYC workers across the country. From paper leak protests to student movements, Youth Congress workers have continuously fought on the streets as the real cockroaches of resistance. We do not fear FIRs, jail, intimidation, account suspensions or repression," he said.
He also referred to "shirtless" protest by IYC at the AI Summit with police arresting some of its workers.
"We will continue fighting tooth and nail for the future of India's youth," he said.
As part of this nationwide campaign, the Indian Youth Congress has also launched the "Sack Pradhan" petition demanding accountability and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over "repeated paper leaks".
IYC National Secretary and Chairman of its social media wing Manu Jain said the Indian Youth Cockroaches campaign "represents the anger, frustration and resistance of an entire generation".
"Through social media, AI-driven campaigns and ground mobilisation, we are building a national movement demanding jobs, justice and accountability," he said.
The release said that IYC has launched AI-driven issue-based campaigns across its social media platforms, "showcasing youth resistance as 'Indian Youth Cockroaches' demanding accountability from the Modi government on issues of paper leaks, unemployment and corruption".
IYC said it has also launched a new digital platform, which invites young Indians across the country to register themselves as "cockroaches" to protest against the government.
IYC said it stands with the youth of the country under "leadership of Rahul Gandhi".
The word 'cockroach' gained enormous online traction with the Cockroach Janta Party's handle later withheld in India.
IYC leaders have said that their campaign is on ground and not merely restricted to social media.
Keralam BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar had earlier slammed opposition parties for seeking to gain popularity while "doing nothing for youth and children"
"There is a very delicious irony and hypocrisy here. The people who are now talking about Gen Z, whether it is the TMC, AAP, or Congress, have done nothing for the youth and children. For them to suddenly start pretending that they care about the youth, unfortunately, is a joke. A very cruel joke. Their objective is only to create chaos to destabilise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. I had said it earlier too that as India rises from being a weak country with poverty, into a country that is increasingly confident about its future, there are going to be many forces that will try to slow India's rise," Chandrasekhar told ANI.
"The forces that are outside have friends that are inside. I am not making up some conspiracy. I can take the names of those countries. Pakistan, China, these are all countries that are not going to sit and say, let India become very big and strong. They are going to say, how do we stop this? How do we put a break on it? How can we use the people within the country to destabilise India? This has all happened before. Only now, the battleground and the playground for these people is social media," he added.