Shabana Azmi and Prakash Raj visited Jantar Mantar on Sunday to express solidarity with the Cockroach Janata Party protesters.
The protest took place a day before the CJP's planned 'Chalo Sansad' march, coinciding with the commencement of the Parliament's Monsoon Session.
Shabana Azmi met with demonstrators and expressed support for activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was recently detained during his hunger strike.
Actors Shabana Azmi and Prakash Raj joined the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar, Delhi, on Sunday (July 19), expressing solidarity with the protestors. This comes a day before the group's proposed 'Chalo Sansad' march as the Monsoon Session of Parliament begins today. Videos of the actors from the protest site have gone viral on social media.
Solidarity on the ground
Azmi arrived at the protest site and met the demonstrators. CJP shared the videos on social media showing the veteran actress greeting Raj before interacting with the protesters. Azmi also sat beside a protester on an indefinite hunger strike, hugged her and kissed her hands.
Sharing the video, the protester wrote, “Thank you @azmishabana18 ma'am for your support, solidarity and love (sic).”
Prakash Raj, who had visited the protest site earlier as well, returned on Sunday to be with the demonstrators. "I am with you tonight. I am right here. We will see what happens," Raj said.
He also shared a selfie video from the site, with the caption "Youth of our country are #justasking [sic]".
"That’s youngsters fighting for the cause," the actor said in the video before ending with a smile, with slogans in the background.
About CJP protest
The CJP has been protesting at Jantar Mantar since June 6. The group is demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and accountability over alleged irregularities in entrance examinations.
The protest gained momentum when activist Sonam Wangchuk began an indefinite hunger strike on June 28 to support the cause. Police detained him on Saturday and he was admitted to a hospital in Delhi following a petition seeking court intervention.
The party is scheduled to march from Jantar Mantar to Parliament today coinciding with Monsoon Session.
Security has been tightened across New Delhi ahead of the Monsoon Session and the CJP's proposed "Chalo Sansad" march, PTI reported.
Police sources said that the CJP has not obtained permission for the proposed march. "We are determined not to allow any unauthorised march towards the high-security zone," they said.
