The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) called for a one-day mass hunger strike on July 16 in solidarity with climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and students across the country.
In a post on X, the CJP said: “Tomorrow, July 16, join us in a one-day mass hunger strike in solidarity with Sonam Wangchuk and the students of this country.”
Read also: Sonam Wangchuk hunger strike live: CJP announces ‘mass hunger strike’ on July 16 as activist’s health deteriorates
Wangchuk’s health continued to deteriorate on Tuesday, with activists saying the activist had begun to lose muscle mass, was in “severe pain” and had lost 8.5kg since he began his hunger strike. Despite growing concerns, Wangchuk refused to end his fast, insisting that the government start a dialogue instead.
As concern mounted over his condition, political party leaders, including Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and AAP national coordinator Arvind Kejriwal, appealed to Wangchuk to call off his hunger strike.
The CJP, which has been protesting at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for the past 25 days over the NEET issue, unveiled the five-point examination reform charter on Tuesday, claiming that support for its agitation is growing across political parties.
Veteran actress Zeenat Aman urged the government to start talks with Wangchuk, saying India should not “sit back and watch one of its greatest minds being sacrificed”.
Actor Umi Vaidya, best known for playing Chatur “Silencer” Ramalingam in the film 3 Idiots, also appealed to the public to pay attention to Wangchuk’s deteriorating health, saying he did not want the activist to die.
CJP founder Abhijit Debke said Wangchuk’s condition worsened significantly during the fast.
Also Read: ‘Force-feeding Sonam Wangchuk’: Petition in Delhi HC seeks liquid diet and hospitalizes climate activist on hunger strike
“He started losing muscle mass and was in severe pain. Like everyone else, I begged him to end his fast. He calmly replied: Don’t ask me to end my fast. Ask the government why they’re not even having a dialogue,” Debke wrote in a post on X.
Meanwhile, CPM spokesperson Vaishnavi, addressing a press conference, unveiled the group’s five-point examination reform charter and called for structural changes in India’s public examination system.
She claimed that despite repeated incidents of paper leaks over the past decade, there is no official database to track such cases and there is “almost no accountability”. She also claimed that there had not been a single conviction under the Public Examinations Act.
(With inputs from PTI)
