- By Surarika Das
- Tue, 09 Jun 2026 03:21 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
- Former Supreme Court Judge Justice Markandey Katju has appealed to Indians to join his party.
- His comments come at a time when India's viral "Cockroach Janata Party" (CJP) protested at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Saturday.
- Katju defines "ishq" not as romantic love but as a passionate, selfless devotion to India and its people regardless of caste, religion, or language.
After online satire Cockroach Janata Party made national headlines, a new outfit named "Ishq Karo Party" has gained attention. Former Supreme Court Judge Justice Markandey Katju has appealed to Indian youth to join his party. He also invited Trinamool Congress leader Mohua Moitra and journalist Mrinal Pande to join his party.
'Selfless Devotion..'
Sharing an X post, the former SC judge said that the new outfit promotes the idea of "love, not war." In the post, Katju urged people to join the party. He said that those who are interested in joining the outfit can write to ishqkaroparty@gmail.com.
Katju defines "ishq" not as romantic love but as a passionate, selfless devotion to India and its people regardless of caste, religion, or language, drawing from Sufi traditions in Urdu poetry and examples of revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh and George Washington.
The party seeks to organize patriots for a "jan sangharsh" (people's struggle) against divisive politics, aiming for a transformative "jan kranti" (people's revolution) to industrialize India and raise living standards.
He made these remarks in a post on the social media platform X, in which he mentioned the organisation's structure and purpose. His comments come at a time when India's viral "Cockroach Janata Party" (CJP) protested at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Saturday, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged exam paper leak.
The Ishq Karo Party ( IKP )
— Markandey Katju (@mkatju) June 9, 2026
By Justice Katju
I mooted the idea of creating the Ishq Karo Party ( hereinafter referred to as IKP ) to my friend Irfan Ali, who has been in USA for about 20 years, and lives and works in Princeton, New Jersey.
Irfan was impressed by the idea, and…
An alleged screenshot is going viral in which former judge Katju is inviting TMC leader Mahua Moitra and journalist Mrinal Pande to join the 'Ishq Karo Party.'
In his post, Katju asked the TMC leader to forget the other CJP clowns and instead join a new outfit, which he said is focused on promoting love and peace. "Mahua, forget the CJP clowns and join the recently formed 'Ishq Karo Party,' whose agenda is 'Love, not war,'" he wrote.
Ex- Judge Invites Mrinal Pandey
Meanwhile, one of his tweets stated, "Mrinal, forget the jokers of CJP and join the newly formed 'Ishq Karo Party,' whose agenda is 'Love, not war.'" He mentioned that he is its patron and that the chairman is Irfan Ali, who resides and works in Princeton, New Jersey, USA. They are in the process of preparing the party's website and Instagram account, among other things.
Why Did He Mention CJP?
While sharing his tweet, Katju mentioned CJP in his post and advised people to leave the outfit and join his party. The developments started weeks after Abhijit Dipke, a postgraduate student from the US, started an online party named the Cockroach Janata Party after CJI Surya Kant labelled unemployed youth "cockroaches and parasites." The online satire quickly gained momentum, and netizens started supporting it.
ALSO READ: 6 CJP Members Detained During Agitation; Dipke Tells Centre ‘You Cannot Erase Us From This Space’
On Saturday, the party held an on-ground protest demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The party gave a one-week deadline to the Centre and warned them to face consequences if their demands remained unfulfilled.