Deepika Padukone joins India protest, angers BJP supporters, gains more Twitter followers

Fans, followers from across the world are lauding Bollywood’s A-list actress Deepika Padukone, as on Tuesday, she joined a protest staged by students from Delhi’s Jahawarlal Nehru University against a mob attack at the varsity earlier this week.

Pictures of her attending the protest and meeting student union leaders, who were injured in the attack by the mob armed with sticks and rods, went viral on social media.

Padukone stood by as former JNU Students’ Union President Kanhaiya Kumar raised “azaadi” slogans, and also met current president Aishe Ghosh, who was severely injured in the January 5 attack.

#WATCH Delhi: Deepika Padukone joins students at Jawaharlal Nehru University, during their protest against #JNUViolence. pic.twitter.com/Ytc28MCGHT

— ANI (@ANI) January 7, 2020

Eyewitnesses, accused the members of ruling BJP’s student wing, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) of orchestrating the attacks. The ABVP, initially denied involvement but January 6,  a ABVP member, admitted on television that two armed men seen in videos of the incident were members of her organisation.

https://www.facebook.com/DhruvRatheePage/videos/2446740778767835/

As most of the Bollywood biggies are facing criticism for staying silent on the issue, Deepika is being praised for taking a bold step at a time when her new movie is about to get released.

A number of journalists from India and across the world, showered praise upon the actress for taking a stand and “risking” her career for a cause.

Though BJP supporters criticised her, Socialblade – a website that tracks social media analytics, Deepika has seen a steady growth in followers in the past week on Twitter. In fact, even after her appearance at JNU, the actress has gained double the followers than those who follow her on the “usual” days.

https://twitter.com/RanaAyyub/status/1214834438594580480?s=20

Hum Dekhenge #chhapak

— Rohini Singh (@rohini_sgh) January 7, 2020

Thank you @deepikapadukone … thank you for being a true INDIAN .. pic.twitter.com/eHiYNCXA1R

— Prakash Raj (@prakashraaj) January 7, 2020

https://twitter.com/one_by_two/status/1214637801603338240?s=20

https://twitter.com/Khiladi_ki_saru/status/1214774871944761345?s=20

Amazing courage of this young lady! Lord Jagannath bless you #DeepikaPadukone. I normally don't watch Hindi movies but will see all her films from now, for sure pic.twitter.com/vXFrVemsvx

— Tathagata Satpathy🌶️ (@SatpathyLive) January 8, 2020