Bollywood actor Huma Qureshi has reacted to the police crackdown on protesters during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) march in New Delhi, calling for greater patience, dialogue and accountability from the government.
Thousands of protesters gathered in the national capital on Monday, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The CJP had called for a march from Jantar Mantar, where demonstrators had been protesting for nearly a month, to Parliament.
The protest drew an unexpectedly large turnout, with reports estimating that around 50,000 people joined the demonstration.
As protesters moved towards Parliament, police attempted to stop the march. Security personnel reportedly used a mild lathi charge and tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.
Reacting to the incident, Qureshi shared a statement on her Instagram account expressing concern over the visuals from the protest.
"The visuals from today will stay with me for a very long time. Seeing peaceful protestors being met with such brute force and lathis left me with a deep sense of sadness. This surely could have been handled with much more patience, more listening and more dialogue."
The actor also stressed the importance of democratic accountability and citizens' right to be heard.
"We, the people of India, elected this government and today we all need to ask questions and expect accountability. We are a huge diverse nation, we don't all have to agree on every issue, but surely we can agree that every citizen deserves to be heard with dignity before force becomes the response."
She concluded her message by expressing solidarity with the demonstrators.
"Respect to every student and every citizen who chose to stand peacefully for what they believe in. Jai Hind."
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