Sonam Wangchuk vows to continue fast till meeting with parliamentarians

Activist Sonam Wangchuk said he would continue his hunger strike until protesting student leaders are allowed to meet parliamentarians or he is permitted to meet them in hospital. He appealed for dialogue and urged the government to address the protesters' concerns.

New Delhi: Activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was removed from Jantar Mantar on Saturday by Delhi Police and admitted for medical care, declared in a handwritten note on Monday that he would continue his fast, now in its 23rd day, until protesting student leaders were allowed to meet parliamentarians or he himself was permitted to meet them in hospital.

“I will continue my fast (Day 23),” he wrote in a signed statement from Safdarjung Hospital, adding that, seeing the manner in which peacefully protesting youth were being dealt with, he had decided to continue his fast until the youth leaders were allowed to meet parliamentarians at Sansad Bhavan or he was allowed to meet them at the hospital.

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He expressed hope that the government would fix the Education Minister’s accountability before then.

The protesters were demonstrating at Jantar Mantar, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and seeking urgent reforms in India’s education system. The protest, led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), intensified after Wangchuk’s hospitalisation.

His health condition sparked concern among supporters, who praised his determination but urged the authorities to engage constructively with the youth’s grievances.

Police stopped the agitating students from marching towards Parliament on Monday. CJP members organised the march to press their demands for accountability and dialogue with MPs.

“I am touched and moved by how the youth have held on to peace despite provocation, and I appeal to the government and police to resolve the issue by simply allowing the students to present their grievances before Parliament today or tomorrow. I am sure the young protesters will show the same patience and tolerance tomorrow as they did today,” Wangchuk said in the statement released on social media platform X.

The protests began after India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant allegedly compared unemployed young people taking up activism to cockroaches and parasites, according to the organisers.

The protests gathered momentum after the NEET medical entrance examination was cancelled following a paper leak and reports emerged of students dying by suicide.