Delhi University told its students to avoid the ongoing protests at Jantar Mantar. Actor and filmmaker Pooja Bhatt is entirely rejecting that directive.
The university issued a notice Thursday warning students and faculty against joining “unlawful assemblies” tied to the massive outcry over the NEET exam leaks. According to the Delhi University advisory, participants face potential legal action. The administration claimed the demonstrations risk personal safety and academic progress.
Bhatt took to X hours later to condemn the warning directly. She did not hold back.
“The students safety is more in jeopardy if their voices are suppressed,” Bhatt wrote on July 23. “If we are truly invested in their future, we must support their right to speak out rather than maintain a conspiracy of silence.”
Tens of thousands of young people are currently rallying under the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). They want Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign following systemic educational irregularities and the massive NEET paper leak. The movement is holding strong. Early Friday morning, educator Sonam Wangchuk ended his fast after starving for 20 days in solidarity with the students.
Bhatt is not the only public figure questioning the university’s aggressive stance. Congress MP and DU alumnus Deepender Hooda condemned the advisory Thursday, specifically asking which Supreme Court ruling rendered the protests a blanket unlawful assembly.
Bollywood Backs the Student Reform Movement
The central government is officially establishing fast-track courts to prosecute the NEET leak accused. But the cultural momentum is already shifting past administrative fixes.
For years, major film stars avoided wading into active political protests to protect box office returns. That hesitation is fracturing. Figures like Alia Bhatt, R. Madhavan, Salman Khan, and now Pooja Bhatt are openly throwing their weight behind the students over the last 48 hours. This public backing breaks the traditional industry silence and puts massive pressure on institutional attempts to quiet the demonstrations. When A-list actors amplify a student movement, university warnings lose their sting.