Naseeruddin Shah condemns police action against CJP protesters in Delhi

Naseeruddin Shah condemns police action against CJP protesters in Delhi

Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah has issued a strongly worded video message condemning the Delhi Police action against student protesters at Jantar Mantar, saying he is deeply emotional and furious over the treatment of demonstrators during Monday's Chalo Sansad March.

Shah, who has been honored with the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards for his contributions to Indian cinema and has won three National Film Awards, three Filmfare awards, and the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival, urged the protesting students not to give up and warned the government that these events would not be forgotten.

"I would like to say two things to you all. The first thing is that if an ignorant person leads this country, then his heart will want the whole country to become as ignorant, incomprehensible, and merciless as he is," Shah said in his video message. The actor, born in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, noted that his most valuable learning about his craft came from students he once tried to teach after completing courses at the National School of Drama and the Film and Television Institute of India.

Strong words on police treatment

Shah spoke directly about the treatment of young protesters at the demonstration. "I sympathize with them. Iss waqt mera dil bhi bhara hua hai aur main gusse se khaul bhi raha hoon yeh dekhkar ke humare bachchon ke saath kis tarah zulm ka bartav kiya ja raha hai unn gundon ke haathon joh mujhe America ke agents ki yaad dilate hai, muh pe naqab lagaye hue, haath mein danda liye hue. Kabhi apne bachchon ke baare mein bhi socha karo aur yeh bhi socho tumhara anjaam tumhe bhi ek din milega zaroor," he stated.

The actor urged security personnel to think about their own children and warned that they too would face consequences for their actions one day.

Message of encouragement

Shah had words of encouragement for the students, asking them to continue their fight despite the events at the protest. "I want to tell all these children not to lose hope. Many people sympathise with you. Many people are with you. Keep fighting. I have always expected a lot from the nation's youth, and my confidence in them has only gotten stronger now. I'd also like to tell the Government, sab yaad rakha jaayega (everything shall be remembered)."

Context of the protests

The Chalo Sansad March took place on Monday, July 20, 2026, coinciding with the opening day of Parliament's Monsoon Session. The march began at Jantar Mantar, Delhi's principal location for organized public demonstrations since the 1990s, before proceeding towards Parliament. More than 5,000 Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed ahead of the march, with anti-riot vehicles and tightened security measures across central Delhi.

Tensions rose when police carried out a lathi charge during the march, triggering widespread outrage and drawing criticism from several public figures. The demonstration took place days after activist Sonam Wangchuk was removed from the protest site and shifted to Safdarjung Hospital. Wangchuk, who was previously jailed for nearly six months in 2025 after protests demanding statehood for Ladakh and released in March 2026, joined the demonstration on June 28, 2026, starting an indefinite hunger strike.

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a youth-based satirical political movement founded by Abhijeet Dipke in May 2026, began protests at Jantar Mantar on June 6, 2026. Wangchuk, the protesting students, and the CJP have been demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak and other alleged irregularities in the examination process. Over two million students appeared for the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination, which was ordered after allegations surfaced that the original question paper had been leaked before the May 3 test.

In an ironic historical parallel, Dharmendra Pradhan himself participated in protests in Odisha in 1997 against an alleged paper leak in a state-level competitive examination when he was National Secretary of the ABVP student organization, and was reportedly injured during police action at that time.

Bollywood voices support

Shah is among several Bollywood personalities to have voiced support for the protesters. Sonu Sood, Dia Mirza, Shabana Azmi, Swara Bhasker, Prakash Raj, Diljit Dosanjh, Riteish Deshmukh, Vir Das, Genelia Deshmukh, Richa Chadha, Sonakshi Sinha and Ayush Sharma have also spoken out in support of the demonstrations.