Mumbai’s Shivaji Park witnessed an exciting turn of events on October 2 as some of Bollywood’s big names supported the Cockroach Janta Party protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah and Vishal Dadlani were spotted at the event.

Despite the scorching heat and a stern reminder from the police, the young faces stormed the park with placards, mocking Kumar with hilarious memes and movie dialogues.

The veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, in a video with Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke, expressed gratitude for giving young people a voice on issues of national importance.

This isn’t the first time that Shah has shown his support for the CJP. Back in July, he was one of the first to criticise the police for their treatment of protesters during the party’s Chalo Sansad march.

The CJP has three demands: criminal cases against Kumar and his resignation, stopping the SIR exercise and restoring the voter list of January 2025.

The singer-composer Vishal Dadlani was also present at the protest, cheering with the protesters and shouting ‘Go Gyanu Go’ in unison with them.

“I am happy to be a part of the protest. I couldn’t join Dipke and the team in Delhi, but at least I could do my bit,” Dadlani said on social media.

The CJP has alleged that 13 crore names have been erased from the voter list because of SIR, and the protest went on despite Mumbai Police not granting permission for the event.

Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar also joined the protest; Azmi arrived at the park after asking people to question themselves about their voting rights.

“We have a fundamental right that says if the government is wrong, we can raise our voice against it,” Azmi said.

Writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar extended his support from the sidelines by mocking the residents who  complained to the police about noise pollution and asked the authorities to ban the event.

The Election Commission stated that all major decisions, including the SIR, were taken by the three-member commission unanimously and that there was no breakdown in structure.

After the event in Mumbai, CJP founder Dipke announced a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on October 10.