CAA protests: B-town roars at demonstrations, Farhan Akhtar bats for democracy; stars thank Mumbai Police for cooperation

Protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) witnessed hundreds step out on the streets on Thursday in select cities throughout the country. With anti-CAA placards, protesters in cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai expressed their disapproval for the newly-enacted law. While in many cities, people faced the wrath of Section 144 and were detained, in Mumbai, the demonstrations concluded on a rather peaceful note.

At the August Kranti Maidan, the protest venue in Mumbai, people were joined by Bollywood celebrities like Farhan Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap, Swara Bhasker, Sushant Singh Rajput, Huma Qureshi, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Javed Jaffrey and Aditi Rao Hydari.

The 'Sacred Games' director, while stressing the Government to be clear about their intentions, said that the protests took place peacefully in his state because the BJP isn't in power there. Earlier, on Twitter, Kashyap named the Government 'fascist' and urged people to raise their voices against CAA.


Akhtar, who took to the micro-blogging platform on Wednesday to confirm that he will also be at the venue, joined the protesters for a short while. The 45-year-old said that raising voice against something is a democratic right of every citizen.



The ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ actor, while interacting with the media, also said that there is something wrong in the new Act which is why so many people are revolting. A video of the same surfaced on social media in the form of a meme and was then shared by Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani.



The 'Tanu Weds Manu' actress took to the stage to voice her opinions about the Government in power and how they must go about the issue. While reiterating that it's the citizens who elected them, Bhasker said the Government must take action citing public revolts instead of inflicting curfews and using violence.

Mehra, the 'Rang De Basanti' actor, echoed the idea of colours in his speech and compared India's diversity to a garden. While talking to the crowd, he reiterated that insisting on only one colour to be present in a garden is incorrect.

Jaffrey, popular for the film 'Jajantaram Mamantaram', voiced the idea of 'roti, kapda and makaan', that is, 'food, clothing and shelter'. He went on to recall the promises of health and education policies which remained unfulfilled when the Government came to power.

The 'Padmaavat' actress, on the other hand, empathized with the Muslim lot and said that today it's them, and later it might be someone else.

Some celebrities, however, celebrated the spirit of democracy on Twitter following peaceful demonstrations in the financial capital.

Director Anubhav Sinha and actress Dia Mirza, while sharing a video from the protests, reiterated the Preamble words 'We the people of India'.





Qureshi, while tweeting a picture of a little protester, echoed the idea of #NoViolenceButNoSilence. She went on to thank the Mumbai Police for helping organise and conduct the demonstration peacefully.



Actress Richa Chadha, on the other hand, seemed to have put the protests ahead of her shoot and ended up being late. However, she did not appear to be sad about it. On Twitter, the 'Fukrey' fame thanked Mumbai Police for their cooperation.



The 'MS Dhoni: The Untold Story' actor spoke in favour of spreading love. He slammed the idea of violence and said that whatever prevails in the hearts of citizens should be communicated to the Government through dialogue.

Also present at the protest were director Kabir Khan, his actress wife Mini Mathur, director Nikkhil Advani, Konkana Sen Sharma, Jim Sarbh, Raj Babbar and Sanjay Suri

Meanwhile, the war of words continued online where netizens could simply not stop themselves from revolting against CAA. Joining the fray was superstar Rajinikanth. On Twitter, the 'Robot' actor wrote that violence and rioting will never lead anyone to a solution. He went on to urge all Indians to unite and give paramount importance to the country's security and welfare.

"Violence and rioting should not become a way to find solution for any issue. I request the people of India to stay united and vigilant keeping in mind the nation's security and welfare, " he wrote.