'Youth deserve to be heard without fear': Riteish Deshmukh backs student protestors after police lathi charge

Riteish Deshmukh shared a tweet on Monday evening in support of student protestors hours after Delhi Police cracked down on the protests.

On Monday, the ongoing protests in Delhi against irregularities in the education sector and paper leaks turned violent with clashes between police personnel and protestors. Actor and filmmaker Riteish Deshmukh later backed the protestors, urging the administration to initiate a dialogue with them and maintaining that the youth of the country ‘deserve to be heard without fear’.

Riteish Deshmukh has thrown his weight behind the ongoing student protests.

Riteish Deshmukh backs student protestors

On Monday evening, hours after the violent skirmishes between protestors and police personnel in Delhi, Riteish took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “We stand in solidarity with the youth of our country. Their voices deserve to be heard — loud, clear, and without fear. They are the heartbeat of our democracy and the true architects of our nation’s future.” The actor and director also urged the administration to initiate a dialogue with the student protestors. “Let us listen, support, and empower them. The energy, courage, and dreams of our young people will shape the India we aspire to build,” he added, before ending his note with ‘Jai Hind’.

What happened at the protests on Monday

According to Delhi officials, during Monday’s protest by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in the New Delhi area, the protesters displayed unruly, aggressive, and violent behaviour. Despite repeated warnings and lawful directions issued by the police, they refused to disperse and deliberately violated the prohibitory orders in force. The protestors, however, claim that Delhi Police personnel targeted them indiscriminately, leading to several injuries on their side as well. Several videos on social media showed lathi charge by the police on protestors.

Meanwhile, on Monday, a delegation of the CJP met Union Health Minister JP Nadda to discuss its demands. The Union minister appealed to the protesters to end their sit-in.

What are the protests about

The CJP-led protests have been ongoing for over two weeks amid allegations of irregularities in the education sector, particularly the alleged leaks of NEET exams. Social activist Sonam Wangchuck also joined the protest earlier this month, starting a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar.

Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) chief spokesperson Saurav Das said they placed three demands before Nadda, including the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and compensation of ₹1 crore to the families of the NEET aspirants, "more than 20 of whom have lost their lives". He said activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is in a hospital, should be "released immediately". Das said that the protest will continue till Dharmendra Pradhan resigns.