Activist Sonam Wangchuk told the government on Wednesday that he will end his 25-day hunger strike once the government assures him that young protesters who participated in the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) march to Parliament will not face any punitive or retaliatory legal action.
“Their only crime is to raise their voices for a fair and accountable education system,” Wangchuk said in his letter to Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh, urging the government not to take criminal action against the protesters.
Wangchuk said he would end his fast if guarantees were given.
In a post on X later, Wangchuk added that he would ask the students to pause the movement. “Once the government’s assurances arrive, I will also appeal to the peacefully protesting students to stop the movement for now and enter into dialogue with the government,” he said in a post on X.
“In the absence of such a guarantee, I will be forced to continue my fast indefinitely. I also hope that there will be no further use of excessive force by the police to suppress the movement,” he said in the letter.
Wangchuk has been on an indefinite fast since June 28 at Jantar Mantar, where the CJP has been protesting against the alleged NEET-UG paper leak and demanding the resignation of union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
He was taken by Delhi Police to Safdarjung Hospital on July 18 and shifted to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram following an order from the Delhi High Court, and is continuing his fast till admission.
Nadda and Jitendra Singh met Wangchuk in Medanta on Tuesday night. They spoke for nearly 45 minutes, with Wangchuk explaining that he needed to take care of the students’ protest before agreeing to any withdrawal.
The letter comes in the wake of six First Information Reports (FIRs) lodged regarding alleged violence during the July 20 Sansad Chalo march to Parliament. In a petition seeking action against the police over the use of excessive force to disperse students, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Delhi Police.
Aside from the CJP, a group of opposition lawmakers also appealed to Wangchuk to end his fast and vowed to pursue his case in Parliament.
The opposition MPs’ letter described him as a “Gandhi, engineer, innovator, education reformer and environmental activist”, and said his advocacy for a fair and accountable examination system had “touched the hearts of millions across the country” and that the country needed his “wisdom and guidance far more than” his sacrifice.
The MPs, including Dr Raj Kumar Chapwal, TMC’s M N Haq, Mamata Thakur and Dimple Yadav, said they would continue the “national mission and debate on education reforms” in Parliament, and made it clear that ending the fast would not mean the end of the protest itself.
“We fully support the continuation of the protest until the goals are achieved,” the MPs’ letter said, adding that they would also demand that the government not take coercive measures against Wangchuk or other protesters.
The CJP has listed Pradhan’s resignation and compensation $1 crore to the families of students who allegedly died by suicide in the wake of the NEET paper leak controversy, and withdrawal of all FIRs lodged against peaceful protesters as the group’s three conditions for ending their protest at Jantar Mantar.
The CJP said it was ready to hold talks with the government to resolve the ongoing unrest, but insisted that discussions should take place in a neutral location rather than the minister’s residence, and that the government’s intention should be to sincerely address the protesters’ demands.
CJP spokesperson Sourav Das said the movement did not have time for “meaningless discussions”. “It is important that the government’s intention is to accept our demands. Time is precious… Thousands of people are still at Jantar Mantar and the protest is continuing,” he said.
