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Alleged courtroom comments describing unemployed youth as 'parasites' and critics of institutions as 'cockroaches' spark social media fury, parody campaigns and a sharp debate over whether India’s Gen Z anger signals a real political shift or remains digital activism, even as the judge later clarifies his statement

On May 15 2026, the Chief Justice of India commented on the unemployed youth of India and called them a parasite. He even went ahead and equated the RTI activists and press as roaches. This created a great storm of rage amongst the youth of the country. They took out their anger on social media, which created fury. A parody account, Cockroach Janata Party, has also been made across social media platforms to criticise and joke about the statement. Looking at the frustration and anger, the CJI took back his statement and clarified what he meant. The controversial statement was made during a court judgement. The anger of the younger generation reminds us of the recent uproar that happened in Nepal. Minal Sancheti speaks to people from all walks of life to understand whether this will be a similar case to Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Geeta Menon, Joint Secretary, Domestic Workers' Rights Union​

This is not a movement. It is a spontaneous reaction to the frustration over all the issues related to unemployment, including the lack of attention paid to their education, as seen in the recent NEET case. Now the youth are treated like slaves. No attention is paid to the youth. And they are called upon to do big things for the country. The basic youth has no standard of living and nothing to go by. They have so many responsibilities and are called upon to take on more responsibilities. At the same time, the elders show no responsibility. All the people who talk about the youth and their power are the adults who are misusing the power themselves. In my opinion, you don’t call it Nepal 2.0 because if you see the Nepal movement, the whole rebellion by the youth is based on the political party foundation; they are political leaders, and there is politics. So you cannot term it as Nepal 2.0. It's a good thing that is happening. It’s a reaction, and it won't be able to sustain itself on the ground. On social media, people are showing their angst, and it is mostly the middle class. So it cannot become a political party. The Nepal youth rebellion is of a totally different context. It is a context that is built upon a political movement.

Dr Mugdha Dhananjay, Managing Trustee, India Study Centre Trust