02 October,2026 06:27 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Naseeruddin Shah and Abhijeet Dipke pics via Instagram
Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah met Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke at Mumbai's Azad Park, where the party is set to demonstrate against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Shah's presence on Gandhi Jayanti was viewed as a gesture of support. Dipke later took to X to share a clip of their interaction and expressed his disbelief at meeting the legendary actor.
CJP has organised a protest at Mumbai's Shivaji Park on Friday, demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The party has cited the Election Commission dissent row and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls as the basis for its demand. It has also announced plans to expand the agitation to other Indian cities if Kumar does not step down.
Ahead of the protest, Dipke had called on supporters to mark Gandhi Jayanti by "saving democracy" and announced the gathering on social media. The demonstration is happening at 4 pm at Gate Number 6 of the park. Security arrangements were tightened at Dadar station, the nearest rail hub. Police teams were seen at all the entry points. Dipke has confirmed the protest will remain peaceful and expressed hope that police would be supportive.
Shah's presence has also come in the wake of his earlier support for the CJP-led movement. The veteran actor backed the protestors and slammed the treatement meted out to young demonstrators, stating that his hope had grown stronger for the country's youth.
Reflecting the situation, the 76-year-old actor said, "I would like to say two things to you all. The first thing is that if an ignorant person leads this country, then his heart will want the whole country to become as ignorant, incomprehensible, and merciless as he is." His views came amid heightened tensions at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, where demonstrators had intensified following activist Sonam Wangchuk's removal from the protest site on July 18.
Shah was among several Bollywood personalities to have expressed support for the protesters. Sonu Sood, Dia Mirza, Shabana Azmi, Swara Bhasker, Prakash Raj, Diljit Dosanjh, Riteish Deshmukh, Vir Das, Genelia Deshmukh, Richa Chadha, Sonakshi Sinha and Ayush Sharma had also stood in support of the NEET-UG paper leak demonstrations.
