Ranvir Shorey slams CJP's protest call, asks them to approach courts instead: ‘Hijacking the streets is the actual murder of democracy’ | Bollywood

Actor Ranvir Shorey has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the detention of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) leaders ahead of their planned protest in Delhi against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. He argued that protesters should turn to the courts and democratic institutions rather than take to the streets. His remarks come amid criticism from several Bollywood actors, including Huma Qureshi, Sonakshi Sinha and Vijay Varma, over the authorities' handling of the demonstration.Ranvir Shorey slams CJP for protestingOn Sunday, Ranvir took to X and shared a video of CJP spokesperson Sourav Das appealing to citizens to take to the streets and not retreat. Reacting to the video, he wrote, "Show your numbers in Parliament and the ballot, not the streets! And if the way to those seems unjust, show the courts! That is the democratic way! Hijacking the streets and holding the public infrastructure and law and order machinery to ransom is the actual “murder of democracy”!" He added, "Protests in a democracy are meant to be a last resort. Not a way to circumvent the judiciary’s or legislative domain! Your “right to dissent” cannot turn into 7-days-a-week “protests” that hijack the country and make life hell for the rest of us! Only anarchists, attention seekers or morons would protest without exercising the legal remedies already available." When an X user responded by saying that Ranvir did not know that the 'CJI has been compromised as well', the actor appeared to mock the claim, writing, "Ever-growing list: I am compromised, Other voters are compromised, Media is compromised, Parliament is compromised, PMO is compromised, CEC is compromised, SC is compromised…Only daphli banging, dubiously funded mobs of parties that didn’t win elections on the streets are believable." All about the protestThe Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), led by founder Abhijeet Dipke, planned a protest in Delhi on October 10, 2026, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The demonstration was scheduled to take place at Jantar Mantar. However, ahead of the protest, Delhi Police detained Dipke and two other CJP leaders, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, at Delhi airport shortly after they arrived from Mumbai. The three were later released. Protests continued in Delhi on Sunday.On Monday, Ashutosh Ranka gave Delhi Police 24 hours to announce a date for a protest at Jantar Mantar, warning that the CJP would decide its next course of action if it did not receive a response within the deadline.Meanwhile, security has been tightened in central Delhi ahead of a protest march to the Supreme Court led by the INDIA bloc. Barricades have been erected at several locations, and entry and exit at certain metro stations will remain closed from 6 am to 4 pm on October 12, 2026, for security reasons.