Actor Salman Khan has voiced his support for the students participating in Cockroach Janata Party's (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. While the 60-year-old actor did not explicitly mention the group's name in his social media post, he praised the students for peacefully demanding a better education system. Khan urged that the movement should not be politicised, and said he was saddened that the protest had "taken a violent turn", referring to the violent clashes between students and police that took place during the Chalo Sansad march on July 20.
In his lengthy post shared on Instagram on Wednesday, he also expressed solidarity with the students and their families who were hurt. Calling paper leaks "a very serious issue", Salman praised the students for coming together to seek reforms and thanked parents for standing by them.
"This andolan, this protest, is the right way to go about it," he wrote,
describing the students as "courageous" and saying their commitment to education would make India proud.
He added that the issue was "between the students and the educational system" and urged political parties not to hijack the movement.
Expressing confidence that the government would support the students, Salman ended his note by saying he hoped India would one day become a global education hub where people from around the world come to study.
Salman Khan's statement came amid growing support from the film fraternity for students protesting against paper leaks and demanding reforms to the examination system.
Several other film personalities, including Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Dulquer Salmaan, Pooja Bhatt, filmmaker Imtiaz Ali and veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, have explicitly backed the CJP-led protest and expressed solidarity with the demonstrators.