Kochi | Actress Vismaya, daughter of superstar Mohanlal, on Tuesday voiced support for the ongoing students' protest in New Delhi by sharing an Instagram story questioning the police action against demonstrators.
Vismaya shared on her Instagram story a note originally posted by a page, which flagged the use of tear gas, lathi charge, road blockades, metro station closures, heavy barricading and internet suspension during the agitation.
"You don't have to agree with the protesters. You don't have to support their demands... But if the response to citizens raising their voices is overwhelming force instead of dialogue, every one of us should stop and ask what kind of democracy we are becoming," the post read.
It said, "Because tomorrow, it could be you asking to be heard. Your city. Your neighbourhood. Your own family. My question to all of you is simple: Do you genuinely believe this is how a democracy should respond to its own citizens?"
Thousands of students and activists gathered at Jantar Mantar in the national capital on Monday for the proposed march to Parliament by CJP, despite heavy security arrangements, multi-layered barricades and prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.
Police resorted to lathi charge and tear gas shells after protesters attempted to march towards Parliament, with both sides accusing each other of triggering the violence.
The agitation, which began on June 20, seeks accountability over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations, reforms in the education system and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The agitation received political backing as Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, party president Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior leaders staged a dharna outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Kalyan Marg residence on Tuesday, demanding his resignation over the police action against protesting students.
