New Delhi: Veteran actor Shabana Azmi joined the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP) “Chalo Sansad” march in Delhi on Monday, expressing support for the protesters and urging that the focus remain on their demands rather than on which celebrities attended the demonstration.
Addressing reporters during the march, Azmi said the gathering was intended to be a peaceful protest and described it as an exercise of the democratic right to dissent.
‘We Have Come for a Peaceful Protest’
Speaking to PTI, the actor said those participating in the march had assembled peacefully and had no intention of causing violence.
She said the protest was rooted in the principles of Mahatma Gandhi and stressed that citizens have a constitutional right to raise their voices through peaceful demonstrations.Responds to Questions on Bollywood’s Absence
When asked why more Bollywood personalities had not joined the protest, Azmi questioned why similar questions were not being asked about the absence of industrialists or business leaders.
She said focusing only on celebrity participation shifted attention away from the issues being raised and urged people to support the cause instead of creating unnecessary controversy.
Backing the Protest Movement
Azmi had also visited Jantar Mantar a day earlier to meet students participating in the hunger strike. She said she believed the protesters’ concerns deserved to be heard and called for dialogue instead of confrontation.
The CJP has been staging protests over alleged irregularities in national-level examinations and demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The campaign gained momentum after activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on an indefinite hunger strike, was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital following concerns over his health.
Actor Prakash Raj was also present at the protest site in support of the demonstrators.