Activist Sonam Wangchuk, whose hunger strike and forced deportation from Delhi’s Jantar Mantar catalyzed the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) protest movement against paper leaks and examination irregularities, is keen for a dialogue with the government, and the two sides are scheduled to talk, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitender Singh met Wangchuk on Tuesday night, the people said.
“The government is open to talks. We have been saying that constantly…they did not come to us earlier. Now that we have been told that [Wangchuk] “He wants to communicate, we will talk,” a government employee said.
CJP spokesman Sourav Das confirmed that the government had approached Wangchuk for talks, and it was not the other way around.
HT reached out to teacher Gitanjali Angmu, Wangchuk’s wife and activist, for comments. There was no immediate response.
The above-mentioned functionary referred to Nadda’s meeting with CJP representatives on Monday and said they met when they were approached. Nadda said the CJP had contacted them to present their demands.
Wangchuk was discharged from Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi on Tuesday and transferred to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram. The shift came after an order from the Delhi High Court. Wangchuk transferred the court to a hospital of his choice, citing his fundamental rights under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution.
Two days after Wangchuk’s ouster, tens of thousands of agitators marched to Parliament on Monday to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over repeated leaks of papers, making it the largest public protest of Prime Minister Modi’s third term.
The demonstrators defied police batons and barriers. They toppled the barricades and moved closer, closing the doors to the parliament complex for the first time since the attack in 2001. Commandos took up positions with automatic weapons.
The CJP called for the march to Parliament after a 23-day hunger strike in Jantar Mantar. It was formed after the remarks of Chief Justice of India (CJI), Surya Kant, in which he referred to some people as “cockroaches” and “parasites”. The CJI maintained that his remarks were not directed at youth but at individuals who entered professions like law and media using “fake and fictitious degrees”.
The CJP garnered millions of followers on social media before it began a sit-in protest on June 6 demanding Pradhan’s resignation. Crowds swelled over the weekend, and by Monday morning, students and young professionals braved heavy barriers to join the protest.
Delhi Police said the planned but unauthorized march was handled “professionally”, but images showed security personnel in full riot gear beating unarmed young protesters. Officials admitted that they underestimated the strength of the gathering.
On Tuesday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi led an unprecedented protest outside Prime Minister Modi’s residence, even as opposition leaders visited Jantar Mantar to support the student agitators. Two senior ministers and allies, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharadchandra Pawar Supriya Sule, were among those who joined the protest outside Modi’s residence.
The protest continued for about three and a half hours before the protest leaders were forcibly dragged and placed on buses. Gandhi was taken to Chhatrasal Stadium in north Delhi and released around 10 pm. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was sent to Mandir Marg police station in central Delhi, prompting former Congress president Sonia Gandhi to rush there. She was released at 9.45pm.
At Jantar Mantar, the CJP and protesting students regrouped demanding Pradhan’s resignation as hundreds of people flocked to the site.
