CJP protest Mumbai: Bollywood celebrities gather at Shivaji Park over SIR controversy

Mumbai’s Shivaji Park witnessed a high-profile gathering on Friday as several prominent names from the entertainment industry joined or extended support to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Veteran actors Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah, along with singer-composer Vishal Dadlani, were among the celebrities associated with the October 2 protest. The demonstration, led by CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, is centred on demands including Kumar’s resignation and a halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process concerning electoral rolls.

READ THIS: Mumbai CJP protest: Abhijeet Dipke demands CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over SIR row

Shabana Azmi speaks about voting rights

Shabana Azmi had publicly backed the Mumbai protest ahead of the gathering, urging citizens to participate and highlighting concerns over voter-list deletions. In a video shared on social media, she described voting as a fundamental right and questioned what happens when a citizen’s name is missing from the electoral roll.

At the protest, Azmi also spoke about citizens’ constitutional right to raise their voice against alleged wrongdoing. She thanked those participating for recognising their collective strength and standing up for what they believed was right.

Vishal Dadlani joins protest

Singer and composer Vishal Dadlani also attended the protest at Shivaji Park. Before the event, Dadlani had announced his support and urged people to participate.

During his appearance, Dadlani raised slogans directed at Gyanesh Kumar and said he was glad to join Dipke at the Mumbai protest. His participation added a prominent entertainment-industry voice to the gathering.

Naseeruddin Shah meets Abhijeet Dipke

Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah also showed his support for Dipke. A video shared by the CJP founder showed Shah meeting and embracing him at the protest-related gathering. Shah expressed appreciation for Dipke’s work and said he had come to meet and thank him.

The presence of Shah, Azmi and Dadlani brought additional public attention to the demonstration, which drew hundreds of supporters at Shivaji Park.

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Javed Akhtar comments on residents’ objections

Meanwhile, writer and lyricist Javed Akhtar weighed in on the controversy surrounding the protest venue through an X post. Some Shivaji Park residents had objected to the demonstration over concerns about noise and disruption.

Akhtar said he welcomed residents raising the issue, but questioned whether they would raise similar objections with the same intensity when political parties hold public gatherings at Shivaji Park.