Activist Sonam Wangchuk said on Wednesday that he was ready to end his 25-day hunger strike if the government gave him guarantees on his key demands, including that no legal action would be taken against agitators who staged a mass protest that rocked Delhi earlier this week.
Wangchuk released a video from his hospital bed at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram, hours after he wrote an open letter to Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh, who met him for 45 minutes around midnight on Tuesday. Separately, at least 65 opposition MPs wrote to the activist, demanding that he end his hunger strike. At least 15 representatives from six parties went to visit him in the hospital in the evening, but the police stopped them outside the building.
He said in the video, “Ministers and opposition leaders appealed to me (in a letter) signed by 65 representatives to end the hunger strike and return to serving the nation. I also want to do that; my work is also important. But I ask the government not to use force against children.”
“I demand assurances that no charges or FIRs will be filed through which they could be threatened with police or prisons. If I get the confirmation soon, out of respect for your feelings, I can break my fast today. But if I do not receive such assurances, unfortunately I will have to continue my hunger strike.”
Nada confirmed the meeting in a press conference held late in the evening. “We went to ask about his health because he was shifted from Safdarjung Hospital to Medanta. He was in the ICU, where there is a restrictive atmosphere, but we asked about his health and told them to break their fast and join the mainstream… and give the students the right direction. He said he would respond,” he said.
Originally a Ladakh-based climate activist, Wangchuk observed an indefinite fast on June 28 at Jantar Mantar in solidarity with the Janata Party, which was demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over paper leaks. The Delhi Police forcibly shifted him to Safdarjung Hospital on July 18 and later shifted him to Medanta following an order from the Delhi High Court on Tuesday. He continued to fast throughout his treatment at the hospital.
In his open letter to the two ministers, Wangchuk said Nadda and Singh had assured him that the government would positively consider providing adequate compensation to the families of students who died by suicide after the NEET paper leak, and hold a meaningful discussion in Parliament to ensure accountability for examination irregularities, including considering Pradhan’s resignation.
“Therefore, I respectfully request an unequivocal guarantee from the government that none of the young protesters will face any punitive or retaliatory legal action for participating in this movement. Their only ‘crime’ is raising their voices for a fair and accountable education system,” Wangchuk wrote.
“If such an assurance is given, I will end my fast with the belief that the government has not only heard my plea but also listened to the aspirations of thousands of Indian youth. In the absence of such an assurance, I will be forced to continue my fast indefinitely,” he added.
Separately, MPs from parties including the Congress, AAP, Samajwadi Party, RJD, CPI(M), TMC, JMM and BJD have written to Wangchuk, appealing to him to end the fast and pledging to represent his cause within Parliament. The letter described him as a “Gandhi, engineer, innovator, educational reformer and environmental activist,” and said his advocacy for a fair and accountable examination system “touched the hearts of millions across the country” and that the country needed “his wisdom and guidance far more than” his sacrifice.
The MPs also pledged their support for the movement itself, writing: “We fully support the continuation of the protest until the objectives are achieved. We will also demand that the government, in the larger public interest, not take any coercive action, whether by registering any FIR or through any other administrative action, or pursue it against the protesters or against you in connection with the peaceful democratic movement.”
The two ministers had a long discussion with Wangchuk, people familiar with the matter said. “The government told Wangchuk that he should talk to the GPC and inform them that the students’ real demands are being heard. The government is already addressing some issues of concern… We have met with them once and the time and place are being decided for a second round of meetings,” one of the people familiar with the details said.
It was learned that Wangchuk told ministers that he could not take a call about the protest and would need to consult students. “He said he would have to consult with them…,” said the person quoted above.
In the evening in Gurugram, opposition lawmakers submitted their letter to Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali Angmu, after police did not allow them to meet the activist at Medanta Hospital.
Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh said that 15 members from the Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Biju Janata Dal and AAP were not allowed to meet Wangchuk.
“Look at the tyranny. The first time you might see the police preventing someone from meeting a patient in the hospital. We came to meet Sonam Wangchuk… Do they want Sonam Wangchuk to die?” Singh asked.
“BJP leaders will go, but opposition leaders will not. They are manhandling MPs. They do not even know the basic protocol. We are asking the police to show us in return whether the administration has stopped you or who has stopped you,” RJD MP Sanjay Yadav said.
