A 30-foot cockroach effigy was torched alongside the traditional figures of Ravana, Meghnad, and Kumbhakarna at the DDA ground in Netaji Subhash Place, Delhi, during Dussehra festivities on Tuesday evening.

Fiery Clashes Over Unorthodox Festivities

The unusual effigy, constructed from cardboard and erected by the Shri Keshav Ramlila Committee in Pitampura, sent shockwaves through the capital’s political circles as crowds gathered to watch it burn. While the committee maintained that incinerating the gigantic pest was an initiative to champion civic hygiene, members of the activist pressure group known as the Cockroach Janta Party interpreted the display as an explicit public slight aimed directly at their movement.

Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, quickly turned the spectacle to his advantage by sharing video footage of the towering cardboard insect across social media platforms, sarcastically embracing the hostility.

Burning a cockroach effigy on Dussehra only shows how rattled the ruling party is... Good to know we are making enough of an impact for you to see us as competition.

The confrontation triggered fierce digital reactions after CJP legal head Ratna Singh labeled the demonstration a political tamasha. Singh openly rebuked ruling party figures, arguing that using a religious celebration to burn an insect-themed effigy proved the pressure group was unnerving its political opponents. She further remarked that the organizers’ efforts demonstrated the growing reach of their movement, taunting rival digital campaign teams to take time off from what she characterized as pointless and exhaustive labor.

Health Awareness or Political Targeting?

Event organizers firmly dismissed allegations that the ritual held hidden political undertones. Ashok Goel Devraha, the president of the Ramlila committee and Bharatiya Janata Party MLA representing Model Town, asserted that the cockroach stood strictly as a metaphor for civic decay and unhygienic conditions. Devraha argued that the demonstration was designed to raise public consciousness around sanitation under the broader Swachh Bharat and Swachh Delhi banners, highlighting how household pests spread serious respiratory complications like asthma and severe allergic reactions.

Devraha declared before the gathered assembly that the effigy was not commissioned as an attack against any specific individual, civic body, or political pressure group. Despite these disclaimers, the high-profile political guest list fueled public scrutiny. Attendees witnessing the effigy burn included BJP Rajya Sabha MP Arun Singh, Delhi minister Kapil Mishra, and Vishwa Hindu Parishad Delhi unit president Kapil Khanna.

Simmering Tensions and Street Demonstrations

The fiery spectacle follows weeks of escalating confrontations between law enforcement and the Cockroach Janta Party across Delhi. Dipke has experienced multiple police detentions throughout October as authorities cracked down on street agitations organized by the group. Dipke himself secured release only after executing a court-ordered peace bond.

Legal repercussions have simultaneously tightened around the group’s leadership circle. CJP spokespersons Saurabh Das and Ashutosh Ranka have remained incarcerated since October 13 following allegations that they breached the stipulations of their peace bond. A Delhi court ordered an additional two-day extension of their judicial custody, compounding the group’s operational constraints as Delhi Police formally transferred the leaders’ case files over to the Crime Branch ahead of impending hearings.

In communications issued to his supporters, whom he regularly addresses as cockroaches, Dipke acknowledged the physical toll that intense street confrontations, police detentions, and legal battles have inflicted on volunteers and their households. Dipke urged his cadres to enact a temporary suspension of ground agitations ahead of the festive season to prioritize time with their families, even as the shocking sight of a burning insect effigy ensured that the political rivalry remained firmly under the global social media spotlight.