'Voting is our right': Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah & other celebrities back CJP protest at Mumbai's Shivaji Park
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Voting is our right': Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah & other celebrities back CJP protest at Mumbai's Shivaji Park")
Abhijeet Dipke with Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi
On Gandhi Jayanti, veteran actors Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah joined the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) ‘Jail Bharo’ protest at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park, alongside film fraternity members including Vishal Dadlani, Vishal Bhardwaj and Rekha Bhardwaj.
Veteran actors Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah were seen participating in the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) Jail Bharo protest at Mumbai's Shivaji Park on Friday. Both were welcomed on stage by CJP’s Abhijeet Dipke.
Azmi addressed the gathering and spoke about the right to vote and backed the organisation's demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The actor, who had earlier taken part in a students' protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, told the crowd that people should protest through democratic means if their names are removed from electoral rolls. The Mumbai gathering also saw several names from the film and music industry, including Vishal Dadlani, Vishal Bhardwaj and Rekha Bhardwaj.
‘Voting is our right’
Azmi spoke to the reporters before heading to the stage and said, “Voting is our right. If anyone tries to take away our right to vote, we will do what is necessary through democratic means.”
She later addressed those gathered at Shivaji Park in Mumbai and said, “A very, very warm greeting to all of you. Since I am from Mumbai, seeing all of you present here in such large numbers brings me immense happiness.”
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“Our vote is our right, it is our voice, we have been hearing this since childhood. But when our right is snatched away from us, when our names are removed from the electoral rolls, what will we do? We will protest. This is our right. Today, look around and see how far your eyes can reach, this is the victory of democracy. Because we have recognised our own strength, and we have realised that we do not have to tolerate anything wrong, because this is our country, our Constitution has given us this right. So, many congratulations to all of you,” she added.
The CJP has been protesting against the SIR exercise and has called for Gyanesh Kumar to step down as Chief Election Commissioner.
Naseeruddin Shah thanks Dipke
Shabana Azmi was not the only celebrity at Shivaji Park on Friday. Several prominent figures from the film industry joined the demonstration, including music composer and singer Vishal Dadlani, filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj, and singer Rekha Bhardwaj.
Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah was also seen at the protest, where he met Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke. In a video shared by Dipke showing the two embracing, Shah expressed his gratitude, saying, “I want to thank you.”
Surprised by his presence, Dipke replied, “Sir, I am a huge fan. I had no idea that you were here.” Shah then added, “I knew you were here. I am a huge fan of yours. Whatever you are doing, please continue doing that.”
Actor Prakash Raj also voiced his solidarity with the cause through a video message, remarking, “Happy Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti. But as we celebrate, we should not forget there are certain goons who are celebrating Godse, who killed our Mahatma. And these are the same goons who are trying to kill our citizenship, our democracy through SIR. But the youth of this country, the civil society, the cockroaches will not let this happen.”
Addressing the pushback over the demonstration at Shivaji Park, Shabana's husband and veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar reacted to concerns regarding noise pollution.
Writing on X, he noted, “I am so happy that some residences of Shivaji Park are getting sensitive about the noise pollution and asking the authorities to cancel the protest of CJP today at Shivaji Park. I am hundred percent sure that they will raise the same objection with the same intensity, if not more when ever there is any jalsa of any political party of Maharashtra is planned at Shivaji Park.”
What is CJP protesting about?
Outlining the CJP’s demands, founder Abhijeet Dipke addressed the crowd and sharply criticised the central government, emphasising that the group was forced to organise another demonstration just two months after their agitation at Jantar Mantar over the NEET paper leak issue.
Challenging Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to send the protesters to jail, the agitation comes in the wake of media reports alleging objections raised by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi over decisions regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
According to reports, objections were logged at least 14 times over a 10-month span, with certain orders allegedly issued without their prior knowledge. The Election Commission later clarified that all decisions, including those pertaining to the SIR, were made unanimously by the three-member panel. Meanwhile, police officials stated they were actively monitoring the situation to maintain law and order and keep local traffic flowing smoothly.
