Celebrities back CJP Protest 2.0:Anurag Kashyap calls out ‘2 cowards, 40,000 slaves’; Vishal Dadlani criticises government

Several Bollywood celebrities have voiced their views on the Cockroach Janata Party protest at Jantar Mantar. Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and singer Vishal Dadlani have criticised the government, while Ramayan actor Sunil Lahri has urged people to remain cautious without openly supporting either side. Anurag Kashyap took to his official Instagram account to express his support for the protest. He wrote, “Two cowards, 40 slaves and lakhs of brave people.” Singer Vishal Dadlani has released a video in which he said, “At this moment, the entire country is watching how far, to what extent, a country’s government can go to save one person. That too, against its own people. The government has deployed 23 battalions against the right to protest under Indian law. Forces have been called in from sensitive areas such as Jammu and Kashmir and deployed at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. Roads across Delhi have been blocked, and barricades have been put up. Metro and train services have been shut down. All this to save just one person. This is how the system has been broken and manipulated, so that efforts can be made to save this person at this level.” Ramayan actor Sunil Lahri posted a video and, without naming either side, wrote, “Given the current circumstances, we must all take every step very carefully and thoughtfully. One wrong step could cause very serious damage.” Prakash Raj, who took part in the Cockroach Janata Party’s Bangalore protest, also shared a graphic amid the ongoing protest at Jantar Mantar. Alongside a sketch of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it reads, “You are a prisoner of your fears.” National Award-winning lyricist Manoj Muntashir released a video about the young people protesting against vote theft. In it, he accused Abhijit Dipke of misleading the youth and also criticised YouTuber Dhruv Rathee. In his video, which is around 8 minutes and 42 seconds long, Manoj Muntashir said that young people were protesting over the issue of vote theft without understanding the facts. According to him, young people should know who is leading them and what the purpose of their protest is. Allegations levelled against Abhijit Dipke Aiming at Abhijit Dipke, Manoj said that he was associated with Arvind Kejriwal’s team. According to Manoj, the energy of young people is being used to return to power after the Aam Aadmi Party’s electoral defeat. Referring to the condition of schools in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, he said that the protesters do not talk about problems in states where the Congress or the Aam Aadmi Party is in power. He alleged that this was done to avoid upsetting their supporters and funders. Manoj also targets Dhruv Rathee Manoj also criticised YouTuber Dhruv Rathee. He alleged that Rathee does not respond positively to India’s achievements and successes. Manoj said that from Mangalyaan to military achievements, there was no sign of enthusiasm on Rathee’s timeline when the country had reason to celebrate. Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were detained from a flight at Delhi airport. As many as 1,000 supporters, including YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, have also been detained. Spikes have been placed on the roads to stop vehicles. Some protesters also broke through barricades. Meanwhile, the CJP has released a pre-recorded video of Dipke. In it, he says that Ajinkya Shinde will lead the protest after his detention. The CJP is demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and a halt to the SIR over allegations of irregularities in the voter list.