New Delhi: Veteran actress Shabana Azmi publicly joined the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest in Delhi on Monday (July 20) and participated in the ‘Sansad Chalo’ march from Jantar Mantar to Parliament. However, tensions escalated as Delhi Police used tear gas and carried out a lathi charge on protesters.

During the protest, Shabana Azmi suffered a health scare and felt unwell. After which, she was escorted to a cabin by the volunteers and security personnel.

Now, she opened up about what happened to her health during the CJP protest in Delhi.

Speaking with The Indian Express, Shabana Azmi revealed that she is asthmatic and suffered an attack because of the tear gas. She was quoted as saying, “I am an asthmatic and got an attack because of the tear gas, but I had my pump with me so I am ok now.”

She further added that she was “respectfully escorted to a nearby building”. She said, “I was respectfully escorted to a nearby building and after catching my breath, I went right back and spoke to the students who had been lathicharged. Their spirit is unprecedented. My salaams to all of them.”

Speaking to PTI, she said, “We are here to hold a peaceful protest. This is a right guaranteed by our Constitution. Mahatma Gandhi taught us the path of non-violence. We have no intention of resorting to violence.”

When asked about Bollywood’s ‘silence’ over the CJP protest, she told PTI, “You are only worried about the fact that Bollywood celebrities are not present at the March. You don’t worry about the absence of industrialists and all the businessmen. When you ask these questions, you are sidelining the cause and creating unnecessary controversy. You should support those who are marching for this cause, rather than diluting the matter.”

Meanwhile, several celebrities extended their support to the CJP protest, including Nasseeruddin Shah, Zeenat Aman, Preity Zinta, Omi Vaidya, Vir Das, Diljit Dosanjh, Imran Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Genelia D’Souza, and Rajkummar Rao, among others.

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With over 10 years of experience in entertainment journalism, I specialize in storytelling, celebrity interviews, and content creation. Having worked with NewsX, The Sunday Guardian, India.com, and Times Now, I now contribute to News9’s dynamic entertainment team. My work includes celebrity interviews, movie and OTT reviews, and engaging lifestyle stories tailored for diverse audiences.