“Padmaavat”Actor Deepika Padukone visits JNU, express solidarity with students
NEW DELHI : Deepika Padukone ,who is in Delhi to promote her new film, on Tuesday evening visited the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus to show solidarity with the students who were protesting against the recent violence. Deepika visited JNU around 7.45 pm and was spotted standing with the students at the Sabarmati T-point.
Though the “Padmaavat” star reached Actress Ms Padukone did not speak at the university, she was seen standing with a group of students who were attacked including president of the students’ union Aishe Ghosh. Former student leader Kanhaiya Kumar was also present. Sources close to Ms Padukone said she had gone to express solidarity with the students.
She has been in Delhi for the past two days for the promotion of her upcoming movie Chhapaak, which will hit the screen on 10 January, 2020. The movie, one of the most-awaited releases of the year, is based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. The movie also marks Deepika’s production debut as she has produced the film in collaboration with Fox Star Studios.
Violence broke out in the JNU in Delhi on Sunday night as masked men armed with sticks and rods attacked students and teachers and damaged property on the campus. The mob attack at the JNU has sparked massive outrage across the country. Various Bollywood personalities, including Vishal Bharadwaj, Anurag Kashyap, Anubhav Sinha, Zoya Akhtar, Diya Mirza, Rahul Bose, Richa Chadha, Taapsee Pannu, protested against the attack at Carter Road in Mumbai on Monday evening.
In a fresh development, Hindu Raksha Dal’s Pinky Chaudhary on Tuesday claimed responsibility for the JNU attack on Sunday night. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has filed an FIR against JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh and 19 others (name not in accused column but in detail list) for attacking security guards and vandalising server room on January 4. The complaint was lodged by JNU administration and the FIR was registered on January 5.
Meanwhile,BJP’s National spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said we respect her right to support or show solidarity with any group. He asked her take out time to meet those students who were beaten because they wanted to register and study. “Pls do meet Valentina a student who was beaten by those with whom you are standing,” wrote Bhatia.
BJP’s Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga called for a boycott of her films. “RT if you will boycott movies of Deepika Padukone for her support to #TukdeTukdeGang and Afzal Gang,” wrote Bagga.
The move by Ms Padukone, one of Bollywood’s top stars, stood out amid conspicuous silence by film industry A-listers on student protests and the demonstrations across the country against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. Yesterday, Ms Padukone had spoken to NDTV about the protests, saying that she was proud “people are not scared”.
“I feel proud that we are not scared. I think to be able to express ourselves. I think the fact we are thinking about this and about the future of our country… it is nice to see people are coming out on the streets to voice this and express [themselves]. Because if we want to see change, this is very important,” she said.
The Left-controlled students’ union and the teachers’ association has blamed the attack on members of the BJP-liked student body Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad or ABVP. ABVP has denied any involvement in the attack.
