Actor Dia Mirza has doubled down on her support for the student protests over NEET paper leaks. On Monday, the actor shared a post asking for a more empathetic treatment of the protesters. She wrote, "The images emerging today are difficult to witness. Young people, women and elderly citizens who gather peacefully to seek accountability deserve to be heard with dignity and treated with care." The actor also said that silencing "dissent" is not going to strengthen democracy, adding that those who maintain law and order are responsible not just to preserve citizens' fundamental rights but also for public safety.
After Dia Mirza's initial statement on the student protest in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi put out a statement where he said that "fast-track courts" would be established to "ensure swift and stringent punishment for those involved in paper leaks" and that the authorities and officials concerned have been directed to make the necessary steps regarding this. "Those who try to harm the future of our youth will not be spared," the PM added.
In another post, as caption for his video message, Modi wrote, "More strict actions against paper leaks to come in tomorrow’s Cabinet!"
In response to the PM's video message, Dia Mirza wrote, "Not one word of empathy for the parents who have lost their children, for the children who have died, for the incredible resilience of students demanding their rights, for Sonamji and the students who were on a hunger strike for weeks. How hard can it be sir?"
The actor also questioned Modi's prolonged silence on the issue. "It took 47 days for you to say something. And now that you have, you have said nothing. Nothing that can heal the millions of hearts that are broken."
Several actors and activists have come forward in support of Dia Mirza, with some, such as Swara Bhasker, Kishore and Nazriya Nazim, sharing her post on their Instagram handles.
