Actor Ranvir Shorey says he supports Deepika Padukone’s show of solidarity with the students of Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Deepika was spotted on campus joining in the protests against the violence that broke out on 5 January. He told CNN News 18,
“She has gone and stuck her neck out and she has gone and stood for what is right. Why should I not support her and respect her for it?”Ranvir Shorey, Actor
A masked mob entered JNU on the night of 5 January armed sticks and rods and attacked students and teachers and damaged property, prompting the administration to call in the police. At least 28 people, including JNU Students’ Union president Aishe Ghosh, were injured as chaos reigned on the campus for nearly two hours. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has been accused of being behind the attack.
While refraining from speculating who orchestrated the attack, Ranvir said he condemned the violence at JNU. He said the government “cannot just muscle its way out of everything” and that his biggest concern was that students are “being made to fight a proxy war”.
“From what I have gathered from various timelines on Twitter and other media reports was that there was goonism (sic) happening by the Left wing students over I think the price rise or something like that. My point is you cannot fight goonism with goonism. This government needs to come out of being in opposition mode. You cannot just muscle your way through everything,” he said. “There are visuals of police standing there while a mob is entering JNU – what else can I say? They are giving bureaucratic answers like we didn’t get permission.”
My biggest concern right now is college kids are being made to fight a proxy war with the opposition on one side and the ruling party on the other. ABVP are also kids. I don’t know about the 50 people that entered the campus that day but ABVP are also college kids as are the other left wing student organisations which actually run JNU.Ranvir Shorey
He said that several issues, including the CAA, NRC, NPR and the hike in fees at JNU, are being “muddled up”. “This is becoming a big for the government or against the government situation. Where the violence is concerned, I condemn it and stand in solidarity with anybody – not just the students but anybody who is facing violence and brutality. Whoever is behind it should be behind bars,” he said.
Ranvir Shorey was among the few Bollywood celebrities who turned up for a meeting held by Railways and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and BJP Vice President Baijayant Panda at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai on 5 January. According to reports, an invitation was sent out to members of the film industry for an “interactive meeting” to discuss the CAA. While high profile members of the fraternity, such as Karan Johar, Farhan Akhtar and Kabir Khan, were reportedly invited, the event saw a poor turnout.
Ranvir took the opportunity to explain why he chose to attend the event saying he wanted to “clarify their (the government’s) stand on the combination of CAA and NRC, how it impacts Indian minorities.” “This JNU incident was happening while we were in the meeting; we found out about it only after we left the meeting,” he added.
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