Thiruvananthapuram: Actor Prakash Raj joined a protest event at Manaveeyam Veedhi in Thiruvananthapuram as demonstrations by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and student organisations intensified in Delhi on Friday over the police denial of permission for the party’s ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march.

Prakash Raj said that Kerala supported his stance and was aware of his position. He added that cowards were afraid of cockroaches.

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In Delhi, hundreds of CJP supporters and members of student organisations staged flash protests in central Delhi, carrying the national flag and raising slogans of ‘Jai Hind’. The demonstrations followed the police denial of permission for the proposed march at Connaught Place.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora were among around 150 protesters detained by Delhi Police. The detentions drew sharp criticism from the Opposition, while the BJP-led central government accused the protesters of using young people to spread ‘anarchy’ in an attempt to bring about regime change.

The protesters marched through the inner circle of Connaught Place before dispersing and regrouping at different locations. Some also sang the national anthem. Meanwhile, students and AISA members staged a protest at Mandi House, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the rollback of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and the withdrawal of the 2023 Election Commissioner Appointment Act.

Minor altercations broke out as police attempted to disperse the crowds. Dipke and Bora were preventively detained while on their way to join the protests, with Dipke heading to Connaught Place and Bora to Mandi House.

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A protest rally was also held in Karnataka, where CJP and AISA activists marched from Bengaluru Town Hall to Freedom Park despite the police denying permission for the rally.