Bollywood actor Vijay Varma has taken a sarcastic dig at Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, as Bollywood celebrities voiced support for protests demanding the poll body chief’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Varma took to Instagram to share a photograph of Kumar with the words, “The face of free and fair election”. A tagline on the image read, “Saving Private Gyan”, a reference to the Hollywood war film Saving Private Ryan, starring Tom Hanks.
The actor captioned the post, ‘Happy to the see the forces joining together to save our national hero. Protect him at ANY cost”.
The post came amid protests organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), whose members have demanded Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise.
Actress Huma Qureshi also expressed support for the protesters, criticising the detention of demonstrators and underlining their right to peaceful dissent.
“We are the world’s largest democracy. The right to peaceful protest and the demand for accountability are fundamental democratic rights, not favours granted by those in power. Peaceful dissent is not a crime. Asking questions is not a crime. Demanding accountability is not a crime. A democracy must allow its citizens to raise their voices without fear of intimidation or harassment. Suppressing peaceful protest undermines the very values we claim to uphold,” she wrote.
Qureshi clarified that her support was for citizens demanding accountability and not for any political party or individual.
“My love for this country is precisely why I cannot remain silent. I know speaking up may invite abuse, personal attacks, scrutiny of my finances, or professional consequences. So be it. I have nothing to hide, nothing to apologise for, and no need to prove my patriotism,” she added.
She concluded, “Patriotism is not blind silence. Democracy is not blind obedience. And dissent is not anti- national. The world is watching. We must do better. Jai Hind.”
Singer Suchitra Krishnamoorthi also criticised the police action against protesters in Mumbai and Delhi.
“Watching horrifying scenes of protesters in Mumbai and Delhi being brutally manhandled by the police for doing nothing more than exercising their democratic right to protest. Male police officers dragging and beating young women. Shame on the government for their appalling mishandling of these protests. The response appears immature, egotistical and authoritarian. Democracy demands accountability, not intimidation. Peaceful dissent is a constitutional right, not a crime,” she wrote.
Actor Sunny Hinduja posted a video where he narrated a poem. “First they came for the farmers, I was silent because I am not a farmer. Then they came for the students, I was silent because I am not a student. Then they came for those who cannot speak. I was silent because my tongue was tied. At last, they came for me and nobody spoke up. No one was left by then”.