‘Students holding a mirror to all of us’: Actors, sportspersons extend support as protests continue

With youth protests against alleged irregularities in the conduct of competitive exams gathering steam in the country, several actors and sportspersons have supported the demonstrations and criticised the police action during the march to Parliament in Delhi on Monday.

Prominent actors such as Salman Khan and Alia Bhatt expressed solidarity with the students on social media, while others, including Shabana Azmi, Imran Khan and Huma Qureshi, joined protesters in Delhi and Mumbai.

The protests began on June 6, when the Cockroach Janta Party started its demonstration at Jantar Mantar to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, alleging that he was responsible for paper leaks in national competitive examinations.

On Sunday, thousands joined the protest in Delhi after the police forcibly shifted activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a hunger strike, to a hospital.

A march to Parliament on Monday was met with heavy police action. Dozens of protesters were injured in baton charges and had to brave tear gas.

The police action widened the support for the agitation, which soon spread to other cities.

In Mumbai, the police detained scores of demonstrators between Tuesday and Wednesday as they held solidarity protests with the Cockroach Janta Party’s agitation in Delhi.

The detentions, along with the use of force by security forces, drew...

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