The Congress on Thursday appealed to activist Sonam Wangchuk to end his indefinite hunger strike, saying “his concerns are our concerns”, while reiterating his demand for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said Wangchuk was on a hunger strike for 19 days demanding Pradhan’s resignation and pointed out that the party had been making the same demand for over a month and a half.
“We share the pain and anger felt by Shri Wangchuk Ji, especially at the lack of accountability within the Modi government, due to the collapse of the examination system in particular,” Venugopal said in a post on X.
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Appealing to Wangchuk to cancel his fast, Venugopal said his health had become a cause for concern.
“In view of his health condition, we appeal to Shri Wangchuk to end his fast. His concerns are our concerns and those of other opposition parties as well. Rest assured, we will continue to confront the Modi government and demand the resignation of the Education Minister,” he said.
Congress repeats the request
Speaking at a press conference earlier in the day, Congress general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh said the party had been demanding Pradhan’s resignation for the past two months.
He added that several other people also requested the minister’s resignation. Ramesh added that Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had raised the demand in Kota on June 17 and would do so again during his interaction with students in Dehradun on Friday.
Wangchuk completed the 19th day of his indefinite hunger strike on Thursday, with doctors saying he had lost more than nine kilograms and entered a critical phase. They warned that prolonged fasting may begin to affect the organs.
In a video message released late Wednesday night, Wangchuk ruled out ending his fast despite pleas from political leaders and supporters. He said that ending the protest without any response from the government would send the wrong message.
Instead, he urged people to strengthen the parliamentary march proposed by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on July 20.
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Support for Wangchuk’s incitement continued to grow. Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait announced that he would visit him at Jantar Mantar on Thursday evening. Music composer Vishal Dadlani, actor Sayaji Shinde and author Shobha De also appealed to the government to engage in dialogue with the activist and expressed their concern over his deteriorating health condition.
Earlier in the day, the Delhi High Court directed the authorities to monitor Wangchuk’s health daily and provide medical intervention whenever necessary, noting that “the life of any citizen is precious.” The Center and the Delhi government told the court that they had no objection to regular medical monitoring.
The Cockroach Janta Party protested at Jantar Mantar, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in the NEET exam. The party has also called for a parliamentary rally on July 20, the opening day of the monsoon session.
(With inputs from agencies)
