Javed Akhtar denies fake post claiming he criticised CJP and Abhijeet Dipke

Javed Akhtar (Pic/X)

Javed Akhtar has clarified that a message circulating on social media, which claimed he had criticised CJP and its founder Abhijeet Dipke, is fake. The veteran screenwriter took to X to distance himself from the purported remarks. His clarification comes days after a CJP protest in Mumbai drew support from several members of the film fraternity.

Javed Akhtar issues clarification on fake post

Veteran screenwriter and former Rajya Sabha MP Javed Akhtar on Monday took to X to deny a message circulating on social media claiming that he had criticised CJP and targeted its founder Abhijeet Dipke. Taking to X, he wrote, "I Javed Akhtar want to tell everyone that the fake message on the social media that I have criticised CJP and run down Abhijeet Dipke is as fake as fake can be. I am surprised that those who are opposing Dipke and CJP need to borrow credibility from someone like me!! Yeh Haalut hogayee hai??? Sad."

Akhtar's clarification followed a wave of social media posts that falsely attributed remarks to him about Dipke and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). The posts claimed that he had described Dipke as a "puppet" of former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and accused CJP of targeting the BJP.

About recent CJP protest

Dipke had announced the Mumbai protest as the first leg of a nationwide agitation, alleging irregularities in electoral rolls and demanding greater accountability in the functioning of the Election Commission. The protest comes days after Mumbai Police denied permission for the gathering at Shivaji Park.

To note, Akhtar's wife and veteran actor Shabana Azmi was among those who joined the protest. Addressing the gathering, she appealed to the citizens to raise their voice and expressed support for CJP's demand seeking Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Shabana was not the only member of the film fraternity at the CJP Mumbai protest. Vishal Dadlani, filmmaker and composer Vishal Bhardwaj and singer Rekha Bhardwaj also marked their presence. Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah was seen at the site as well, where he met CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke. Actor Prakash Raj also extended his support through a video message.