India swats cockroach movement over 'national security'

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. 

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.

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.

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.

Good 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 heatwaves 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!