Narendra Modi and Amit Shah will never pardon the cockroach agitators who happened to spoil the ruling duo’s carefully crafted plans for perpetual authoritarian control. Abhijeet Dipke appeared out of the blue just when they felt they were on the cusp of success.After a series of induced splits in the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was on the verge of a two-thirds majority in parliament. The dramatic realignment in Tamil Nadu with the Congress teaming up with Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) enabled Shah to open talks with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on delimitation Bill. Everything seemed to be working to plan when the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) agitation caught the imagination of lakhs of young Indians fed up over repeated paper leaks and cancellation of all-India tests.Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty.The CJP is not going to vanish as many in the Modi camp hope. It will stay in the battle and continue its fight for justice. The CJP also plans to respond to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) boss Mohan Bhagwat’s call for a dialogue on GenZ’s problems. Dipke has also made it clear that the CJP has no plans to convert the outfit into a political movement. But it would build a broader public movement to restore people’s faith in the democratic process. Its leaders are in the process of consulting different segments of the polity. It has decided to launch a ‘Kya bolti public’ campaign and make unemployment a core issue.A panicked regime had, in true authoritarian style, directed its ministers and senior party sides to be active on Instagram — in order to effectively counter this challenge. The aim was to restore the regime’s domination on social media.Unfortunately, only 11 of the 30 cabinet ministers increased their Instagram activity, contributing to a 13% rise in overall posting over a two-week period. Another study finds the BJP’s outreach through Instagram has ‘flopped’. According to media persons covering the BJP, Modi also met with the party’s social media groups about their apparent failure to wrest domination of the narrative.We are in the midst of a political turmoil the outcome of which, at the moment, seems unpredictable. For the the first time, the invincibility of the Modi-Shah establishment has been effectively challenged. We have to wait and watch how the events will unfold in the coming weeks. There are several ifs and buts. However, a few things have already become apparent.First, Shah, who could come up with shock bills and freely impose those on parliament, has now been forced to use his parliamentary affairs minister for getting these bills through on a daily basis. This has now been happening for over a week. Thus, ironically, the ruling party has suddenly lost its heft when it is numerically stronger after its recent annexations.Second, for the youth protesters and opposition parties, Shah is fast emerging as the villain of the piece. He has followed Modi’s practice of absenting himself from parliament, even ignoring the Rajya Sabha chairman’s request. The repressive measures he used to crush the youth protesters have been widely condemned despite the loyal media doing its best to downplay the worst aspects.Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi along with a victim of alleged pellet gun firing during a students protest march carried out by Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) on July 20, interacts with media, in New Delhi. Photo: Handout via PTI.The Supreme Court has now taken note of the use of such crude devices like pellet guns, lathis embedded with nails and electric batons on the youth protesters. These fascist style weapons are normally reserved for hardened criminals and violent crowds. What crime did the young protesters commit to warrant such cruelty? Some of these methods cause life-long injuries. That is why the protesters want the home minister – who ordered such cruel instruments – to be held accountable.Then police also deployed specialised mobile command and control vehicles equipped with 360-degree high-definition cameras, live facial recognition systems and Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology.Also read: Why Home Minister Amit Shah Must ResignThe European Union’s AI Act restricts the use of real-time remote biometric identification in public spaces, allowing only narrowly defined exceptions. Several US cities – including San Francisco, Portland and Boston – have banned or significantly restricted the police use of facial recognition. But under Amit Shah all of these systems were deployed against young Indians.Footwear collected after the July 20 ‘Chalo Sansad’ protest is displayed at Jantar Mantar on July 22 as a symbol of the police crackdown. Photo: PTI.The youngsters at the CJP protest were different from those we saw in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. With their backpacks, mobiles and water bottles, these post-reform youths in jeans are seeking scam-free tests and jobs commensurate with qualifications. They feel deceived by Modi’s slogans like Modi hai to mumkeen hai (It is possible if Modi is there). Why use Israeli-style crude tools on them?Third, it does seem as if political mood of the nation is turning against the ruling party. This is the conclusion most observers are drawing from the recent by-election results. Of the four results, all from the BJP-ruled states, the BJP could only retain a lone seat from Gujarat and even there its victory margin eroded sharply. The rise of Prashant Kishor’s party in Bihar and Congress’s victory in Datia in Madhya Pradesh are seen as a big jolt to the BJP.Also read: Is Amit Shah’s Meltdown a Work in Progress?Does the backlash of the CJP agitation and the election reverses indicate simmering discontent against the regime? We have to wait a while to know more about the growing volatility among the BJP’s core social base of Hindu voters before jumping into conclusions. Let us watch the straws in the wind.Illustration: Pariplab ChakrabortyThis is visible within BJP. You may dismiss Murli Manohar Joshi’s occasional, sane advice to the Modi-Shah regime as an old man’s grumbling. But now we have more such jarring voices from those like the four-time MLA Yashodhara Scindia who belongs to Datia where the BJP suffered a setback in the recent by-election. The fear of Shah’s wrath is probably keeping many such voices muffled but that does not mean all is well within.Modi ’s preoccupation with political firefighting and the panic among the establishment indicates just that. Since the humiliation suffered over Pradhan’s ouster, the PM finds no time for any other work. Spending long hours with aides and meeting the wavering allies takes much of his time. His brief public appearances in between shows how worried the regime is.Evidence of the growing panic comes from the strange way in which the IT parliamentary committee headed by a BJP MP sought an apology from Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg. In the first place, a parliamentary committee itself has no powers to withdraw ‘safe harbour’ protection from social media intermediaries. Such a move would require the government amending the relevant section of the IT Act. Without going into the weeds, a simple question needs to be asked: Why is a parliamentary committee so concerned over the social media image of Modi alone? What about other politicians, artists, intellectuals and eminent persons? AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal now says Meta has ‘restricted’ his Instagram accounts. “At this rate, Modi will allow only his own accounts in India,” he quipped.The loudest defence in favour of the Modi regime came from his solicitor general, that too in the Supreme Court. Arguing the government’s case for why it wanted control over the selection of election commissioners, Tushar Mehta made several contentious, in fact tendentious, political questions on July 30. Let us discuss his misplaced political contentions.“People must trust PM. The office of the PM has a ‘sanctity’ attached…if his decision is not to be trusted, then why we did not have a provision that he should appoint his ministers on recommendation of a, say, retired judge,” he asked.Also read: Gen Z’s Laughtivism is the Best MedicineThe prime minister and his ministerial team are political. They are collectively responsible to parliament. Apart from parliament, they are subject to strict watch by various institutional bodies like parliamentary committees, the Parliamentary Affairs Committee (PAC), and watchdog bodies like Central Information Commission (CIC) and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), though Modi has made them dormant.In other words, there is no special ‘sanctity’ attached to the office of the prime minister or his ministerial team. Under the Westminster system which we broadly follow, the office of prime minister is transient. It survives so long as it enjoys majority in parliament. Of course, under a dictatorial architecture, the prime minister is presumed to attain sanctity and permanence. Perhaps that is what Tushar Mehta was signalling.Tailpiece: “I am ready to show all my papers regarding my educational qualifications. Can Modi?” challenged CJP leader Dipke. This was in response to a Surat man casting aspersions on the degree and finances of Dipke. For years, Modi’s degree certificate was embroiled in controversy with Amit Shah himself coming out with dubious evidence. Modi had got the courts to put a lid on this controversy. But thanks to the ‘cockroaches’, this issue might well resurface.P. Raman is a veteran journalist.This piece was first published on The India Cable – a premium newsletter from The Wire – and has been updated and republished here. To subscribe to The India Cable, click here.In an age of fractured mandates, personality cults and transactional alliances, P. Raman brings clarity to India’s shifting political equations. With Realpolitik, the veteran journalist peers beneath the slogans and spin to reveal the power plays, spectacle, crises and insecurities driving India’s politics.