Cinema VinesActor Prakash Raj joined the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP) “Chalo Sansad” march in New Delhi on Monday, marching from Jantar Mantar to the Parliament as the Monsoon session opened. From a vehicle with a loudspeaker, the veteran actor addressed the large crowd, urging them to keep pressing for their demands and waving the Indian Constitution in front of the assembly. He has been a vocal supporter of the CJP and has called for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in the NEET exam papers.
The march began on Sunday with a gathering at Jantar Mantar, where Prakash Raj, Shabana Azmi and Poonam Pandey appeared in person to back the protest. Prakash posted a video of himself stepping onto the stage with CJP members, while Azmi kissed the hand of a protester who had been on a hunger strike for days. Pandey reminded the press that the protest was about students affected by alleged discrepancies in NEET, not about politics or religion.
On Monday morning, the trio helped students on an indefinite hunger strike, breaking their fast with the support of activist Sonam Wangchuk. The protest drew solidarity from celebrities such as Hrithik Roshan, Sonakshi Sinha and Chinmayi Sripaada, who posted messages online.
Later that day, the CJP alleged that its founder, Abhijeet Dipke, had been detained by police and that security forces had used force against peaceful demonstrators. CJP spokesperson Saurav Das urged MPs to stand with the students, noting that Dipke had been “picked up by the police.” The claim followed Wangchuk’s removal from the protest site and his transport to a hospital by police on Saturday.
Thousands of students, activists and professionals gathered at Jantar Mantar and surrounding areas to march to Parliament on the first day of the Monsoon Session. Police reportedly used baton charges and tear‑gas shells to disperse the protesters, many of whom breached barricades erected across central Delhi. Despite the force, videos show the demonstrators refusing to back down until their demands are met.
