Actor Prakash Raj was one of the first celebrities to have shown support for the Cockroach Janata Party from the beginning. He also came to attend their Chalo Sansad march in New Delhi. The actor, who joined the protest at Jantar Mantar on Sunday, waved the Constitution during the march after giving a speech. He has been vocal about the student-led protests and the hunger strike led by Sonam Wangchuk in the last weeks.
What Prakash said
The actor was recently asked about the silence of other Bollywood stars on the matter of the protests. Speaking to PeekTV, Prakash said, “People who speak, the world is watching… who will stand by the people. Simple.”
When asked about being happy with the response from the industry, he said, “It is not the question of being happy. Now you know who is what. Such movements show who has got the integrity, who will stand for the people. Who am I to say? I can talk to myself. People have great voices, great actors… I wish they used it for this. They have not, people will judge! When history will be written tomorrow, they may forgive who might have made the mistake but they will never forgive who was silent.”
About the protests
On his X account on Sunday, Prakash posted a video of himself joining the CJP members on stage, showing the crowd chanting for their cause. Along with Prakash, the actors who joined the protest march on Monday were Shabana Azmi and Poonam Pandey. Celebrities such as Hrithik Roshan, Vishal Dadlani, Sonakshi Sinha, Chinmayi Sripaada, and others have shown their solidarity with Wangchuk online.
A few days ago, Prakash made it clear that he stands ‘in solidarity’ with the cause and has even met Wangchuk. Posting pictures with the activist, the actor wrote, “In solidarity with the youngsters of my country at #JantarMantar @Wangchuk66 @Cockroachisback #justasking.” The pictures show the actor addressing the protesters on-site, interacting with them, and posing for a picture with Wangchuk.
Last month in Bengaluru, Prakash joined the CJP protest and addressed the crowd. In a video shared by the official X account of Cockroach is Back, Prakash Raj was seen standing beside activist Sonam Wangchuk and CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke. He said, “The elected leaders should do their jobs! Why have you changed the equation? You are doing politics, we are supposed to do jobs. No! Youth of this country has decided to fight their fight. Youth of the country is Dalit. Uncles and aunties, you are ruling this country after retirement age. Go away. We the youngsters are fighting for our future. These youngsters are fighting for their dreams.”
He had earlier responded to an X user who noted that he could not attend the protests in Delhi. In response, he said, “Tried my best to be there and show my solidarity…but couldn’t come due to impending prior work .. always with the movement. I am extremely happy Cockroaches Rocked. Thank you dearest @Wangchuk66 for being there .. who else is better than you when it comes to the future of our education system.”