'Blocking Instagram accounts won’t work': CJP’s Abhijeet Dipke slams Centre’s social media crackdown
PTC Web Desk: Abhijeet Dipke, an activist with the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), has strongly objected to the government’s move against Instagram accounts. He says shutting down online voices will not make people’s problems go away.
Dipke shared his views in a post on X on Wednesday. He said the government was looking at the wrong thing by going after posts and accounts. According to him, people ask questions online because of real issues in their lives and those issues do not disappear when an account is taken down.
He also warned that such action could backfire. In his view, censorship will make people trust the government even less, even though it is the government that is supposed to answer them.
The Instagram crackdown is not going to work!
The government is taking down thousands of posts and accounts every day, but it seems to be missing a fundamental point.
Instagram is just a platform where people are raising their questions. The reasons behind those questions exist far beyond social media, and taking down accounts won't make them disappear.
If anything, this censorship risks creating even more distrust among the very people the government is supposed to answer to.
— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) October 28, 2026
Growing concern over takedowns
His comments come at a time when many people are worried about content removal orders and limits on social media. Activists and political groups have objected to accounts being withheld and posts being taken down, including under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.
Critics say social media has become a place where people voice problems from everyday life, such as paper leaks, joblessness, poor governance and weak public infrastructure. They argue that stopping online discussion does nothing to fix these problems.
Delhi High Court asks Centre to respond
A day earlier, the Delhi High Court asked the Centre to reply to a petition against the blocking of the Instagram handle @bring_back__ballot in India.
The handle belongs to the “Bring Back Ballot” campaign run by Mission Save Constitution. Advocate Mehmood Pracha is the group’s national convenor.
Justice Amit Mahajan issued notice to the Central Government and the department concerned . The case will be heard next on November 6.
Advocate Amee Rana appeared for Meta Platforms and accepted notice. Ashish Dixit, standing counsel for the Centre, accepted notice for the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the designated officer.
The petition was filed through advocate Nikhil Guliani. Advocate Sanawar Chaudhary, speaking for the petitioners, told the court that the account was blocked on October 10, the day of the protest. From that day, anyone in India opening it saw a message saying the account was unavailable because Meta had followed a legal request to restrict the content.
The petitioners say they got no notice, no chance to be heard, no reasons and no copy of the blocking order.
Account was used to call people to Jantar Mantar
The handle pushed for a return to paper ballots in elections, using the slogan “EVM Hatao Desh Bachao.” It was also used to gather people for a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10.
According to the petition, the organisers had informed Delhi Police about the protest on October 9, one day before it took place.
- PTC NEWS
