Prakash Raj joined the Cockroach Janta Party protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Sunday, July 19, 2026.
Raj spent the night at the protest site in solidarity and continued demonstrating the following morning.
Speaking to YouTube channel TheRedMike, the actor asserted that one should fear telling lies rather than speaking the truth.
Veteran actor Prakash Raj joined the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Sunday, July 19, 2026, to express solidarity with the demonstrators. Raj spent the night at the protest site and continued till morning. He revealed the reason behind joining the protest.
Prakash Raj on joining CJP protest
During an interview with the YouTube channel TheRedMike at the protest site, the journalist asked Raj whether he feared speaking out after facing criticism over the years.
"Are yaar, jhooth bolne ko darna hai yaar. Sach bolne ko kya darna hai? (One should be afraid of telling lies. Why should anyone be afraid of speaking the truth?)," Raj said.
He questioned a shift in the national mindset regarding dissent.
"Yeh kaise maamla badal gaya hai is desh mein? Sach ke saath khade hona dar nahi hai. Darna kis se hai? (How have things changed so much in this country? Standing with the truth is not something to fear. What is there to be afraid of?)," he added.
Doing it for himself
The actor said that he acts solely on his inner convictions. "Log poochte hain aap kis ke liye kar rahe hain. Main desh ke liye nahi kar raha hoon, khud ke liye kar raha hoon. Mera conscience ek hai," (People ask who I am doing this for. I'm not doing it for the country; I'm doing it for myself. I have only one conscience)," Raj said.
"Bhagat Singh ne yeh nahi sikhaya, Mahatma Gandhi ne yeh nahi bola, Mandela ne yeh nahi bola, Ambedkar ne bhi yeh nahi bola (Bhagat Singh did not teach us this, Mahatma Gandhi did not say this, nor did Nelson Mandela or B R Ambedkar)," Raj added
He also clarified that he isn't doing it for the country but for himself.
The actor also compared his situation to the sacrifices of freedom fighters.
"Agar hum Ambedkar ko dekhen, Gandhi ko dekhen, Bhagat Singh ko dekhen, unke balidaan ke saamne hamara kitna hai? Itna bhi dard nahi reh sakte desh ke liye? (If we look at Ambedkar, Gandhi and Bhagat Singh, what are our sacrifices compared to theirs? Can we not bear even this much pain for the country?)," Raj said.
When the journalist said that some people might not associate with him because of his views, Raj replied, "Mujhe marne se pehle nahi marna hai. Zinda rehna hai (I don't want to die before I actually die. I want to stay alive)."
