20 July,2026 04:42 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Prakash Raj. Pic via X
Actor Prakash Raj joined the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Sunday. The actor spent the night in solidarity with the ongoing demonstration before joining the march to the Parliament House on Monday. The actor interacted with the media, saying he is not afraid of speaking the truth.
During the interaction with the YouTube channel TheRedMike, the journalist asked Prakash about past public movements in which Bollywood personalities such as Anupam Kher and Aamir Khan had participated, questioning if he feared speaking out after facing backlash over the years.
The actor responded, saying, "Are yaar, jhooth bolne ko darna hai yaar. Sach bolne ko kya darna hai? (One should be afraid of telling lies. Why should anyone be afraid of speaking the truth?)"
He further questioned the shift in the country's mindset, saying, "Yeh kaise maamla badal gaya hai is desh mein? Sach ke saath khade hona dar nahi hai. Darna kis se hai? (How have things changed so much in this country? Standing with the truth is not something to fear. What is there to be afraid of?)"
THe went on to add, "Bhagat Singh ne yeh nahi sikhaya, Mahatma Gandhi ne yeh nahi bola, Mandela ne yeh nahi bola, Ambedkar ne bhi yeh nahi bola. (Bhagat Singh did not teach us this, Mahatma Gandhi did not say this, nor did Nelson Mandela or B R Ambedkar.)"
Prakash Raj added that his decision to join the protest was guided by his own conscience rather than any political agenda. "Log poochte hain aap kis ke liye kar rahe hain. Main desh ke liye nahi kar raha hoon, khud ke liye kar raha hoon. Mera conscience ek hai. (People ask who I am doing this for. I'm not doing it for the country; I'm doing it for myself. I have only one conscience)," he said.
He went on to add how the sacrifices made by leaders of the freedom movement were insignificant in comparison to his discomfort, saying, "Agar hum Ambedkar ko dekhen, Gandhi ko dekhen, Bhagat Singh ko dekhen, unke balidaan ke saamne hamara kitna hai? Itna bhi dard nahi reh sakte desh ke liye? (If we look at Ambedkar, Gandhi and Bhagat Singh, what are our sacrifices compared to theirs? Can we not bear even this much pain for the country?)"
When questioned that some people might be hesitant to associate with him because of his outspoken views, Raj replied, "Mujhe marne se pehle nahi marna hai. Zinda rehna hai. (I don't want to die before I actually die. I want to stay alive.)"
Prakash Raj has often voiced his opinions on political and social issues and even participated in public demonstrations. On Sunday, actors Prakash Raj, Shabana Azmi and Poonam Pandey showed up at Jantar Mantar to extend their support to the cause. Prakash had even posted a video of himself joining the CJP members on stage.
For the unversed, CJP has been protesting at Delhi's Jantar Mantar since June 6, seeking the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and seeking accountability over alleged irregularities in NEET examinations.
