Hours after ending his indefinite fast in the presence of union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh and his wife, activist Sonam Wangchuk said the government had assured him in writing that there would be no action against the protesters.
In a video message on his official account
“The government is positive about not registering cases against those who are peacefully protesting at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and those who participated in the march to Parliament on July 20, 2026,” the Centre’s written statement, signed by union ministers, said.
“The government also gave assurances that there will be no cases registered against peacefully protesting students and youth,” Wangchuk wrote in the statement.
“I respectfully request an unequivocal guarantee from the government that none of the young protesters will face any punitive or retaliatory legal action for their participation in this movement,” Wangchuk said in a letter to the government on Wednesday this week.
The activist began his indefinite fast on June 28 over alleged NEET violations and sought accountability from the resignation of the government and union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. He lost about 11 kg over the next 26 days.
Wangchuk was removed from the Jantar Mantar protest site on July 18 by Delhi Police and taken to Safdarjung Hospital. However, his wife objected to the move in the Delhi High Court, which ordered him to be shifted to a private hospital of his choice.
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What are other government guarantees for Wangchuk?
The government provided Wangchuk with a list of guarantees, after which he ended his 26-day hunger strike. The written statement from the government spells out these assurances, which included a discussion on alleged irregularities in NEET and the examination system in Parliament, and compensation to the families of those who died by suicide due to leakage of NEET papers.
“The government has already assured to hold threadbare discussions to find solutions to NEET paper leaks and educational reforms for examinations in Parliament. Moreover, the government is also positively considering adequate compensation to the suicide victims due to the recent leaks of NEET papers,” the union government statement said. In the video message, Wangchuk said Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh visited him at Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon late on Thursday to offer assurances, after which he ended his fast in their presence.
“Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh came here, members of the Ladakh apex body also came here. Before that, as you know, at least 65 MPs from different political parties either came here or gave their signatures to persuade me to end the fast. They gave an assurance that they would discuss the NEET papers and examination system in Parliament. The ministers who came from the government also gave this assurance,” Wangchuk said, adding that after his appeal that no case would be filed against him. The demonstrators, the “bargaining” continued for two days, forcing him to continue his fast for two more days.
