Veteran actor Shabana Azmi, who joined the protest march in Delhi led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), said she witnessed tear gas being used and students, including young girls, being lathi-charged during the demonstration. In an exclusive interview with India Today after attending the 'Sansad Chalo' march on Monday, Azmi said the students had been trying to keep the protest completely non-violent.

Azmi, one of the few film personalities to publicly back the protest over the alleged NEET-UG question paper leak and the demand for Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, said the force used against the students was at odds with their stated aim of seeking dialogue. She said the protesters were angry, but disciplined, and remained firm even after the police action.

"I was right there when the tear-gassing happened. I was there, and I witnessed the children being lathi-charged, and also girls, young girls, being lathi-charged," Azmi said while speaking to Rajdeep Sardesai. She said the blame was then put on the students, with claims that somebody had thrown a shoe and that this had triggered the action, but added that this was not what she saw. She said the students also kept telling her the same thing, while showing her their injuries.

Watch the interview here:

According to Azmi, the students repeatedly said they wanted to hold a completely non-violent protest, and that this message was being given to them constantly from the podium.

She said she had rarely seen such restraint among young people who were full of rage and anger, but still determined to remain peaceful. Azmi said that even after the tear gas and lathi charge, the students did not appear willing to withdraw.

"And I have never seen such controlled children when they were so full of rage and anger, but completely determined that it is going to be nonviolent. But the good thing is that even after that happened, when I asked them, 'are you scared? Are you now going back?' None of them, not one single one of them said that we are afraid, or we are going to stop from now onwards," the 75-year-old said.

Azmi, who attended the march and actively participated in the protest on Monday, also recalled meeting very young protesters, including 15-year-olds, who had come with courage and conviction. Referring to what they told her, Azmi said they felt they would have been ashamed all their lives if they had not come that day, and that their only appeal was for people to listen to what the students were saying.

The 'Sansad Chalo' march was a youth-led protest calling for the Union Education Minister's resignation and reforms in the examination system following NEET UG paper leaks and other irregularities.

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Published On:

Jul 21, 2026 20:08 IST