Mumbai: Television stars Asha Negi and Karan Kundrra have voiced their support for students amid the ongoing protests, urging authorities to address their concerns through dialogue rather than force.
Taking to their respective social media accounts, Asha Negi shared a strongly-worded note expressing solidarity with the students and describing the previous day as “a black day” for the country.
She wrote, “Yesterday was a black day for this country. I’m not going to pretend I have all the answers. No government gets everything right. This paper leak issue has been happening for years now. Long before this. There’s no perfect system, no perfect party, no perfect anyone in power. That’s not what I’m here to argue.”
She added, “What I can’t get past is this. People went out and asked a question. Teenagers. Kids who should have been in classrooms, studying, worrying about exams the normal way. Instead, things got so bad that they had to come out onto the streets and question their own government. And what came back wasn’t an answer. It was force. Tear gas, batons, kids being dragged off the street. Hunger strikes, peaceful protests, none of it was acknowledged. Not one word back. Just more force, every single time.”
She further added, “I’ll be honest, as an artist, as a citizen, I feel scared to even say this. I’ve already gotten messages in my DMs threatening me, threatening my dignity, just for sharing a few stories about this. And if that’s what fifteen seconds of posting gets me from behind a screen, I genuinely cannot imagine what the women out there are living through, facing tear gas, being dragged, being assaulted, simply for standing on a street.”
She further wrote, “I salute every single one of them. And the Gen Z kids out there right now, I don’t think I have the words for how much gratitude I feel watching them stand there, not backing down, in the face of all of that.”
Karan Kundrra also took to his social media account to express his views on the protests. While supporting the students’ demand for accountability, he urged people not to politicise the issue.
“There are always two sides to a coin… agenda kya tha kisne politicise kiya kisne faida uthaya aur kiska nuksaan hua…? Aaj students pe laathi uthi hai and for what? Accountability? Yeh nai hona chahiye tha… it’s very sad!! Har cheez mein jee jaan se support karenge.. is baat pe nai!!” he wrote.
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In another post, Kundrra called for the focus to remain on the students’ demand for quality education instead of political agendas.
“Hammer the assholes who are misleading the youth for their political motives and go back to what actually the students want… a serious & transparent right to #Education. There is no tomorrow without them… Education is the only hope for a lot of youngsters,” he added.
On the work front, Asha Negi, who made her acting debut with ‘Sapnon Se Bhare Naina’, rose to fame with ‘Pavitra Rishta’. She has since featured in projects such as ‘Baarish’, ‘Abhay’, ‘Ludo’ amongst many others.
Talking about Karan Kundrra, he was recently seen in the reality show The Traitors. The actor is known for television shows including ‘Kitani Mohabbat Hai’, ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai’ and ‘Tere Ishq Mein Ghayal’, and has also appeared in films and reality shows such as ‘Roadies’, ‘Love School’ and ‘Bigg Boss 15’.
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