New Delhi [India], July 17 – For nearly three weeks, Sonam Wangchuk has sat at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, his voice growing weaker but his message unchanged.
The 59-year-old environmentalist and education reform advocate is refusing to end his indefinite hunger strike, demanding accountability from the Indian government over the NEET-UG examination controversy and calling for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
As Wangchuk’s health deteriorates, political pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is growing. Leaders from several opposition parties have reached out to the activist, visited the protest site and urged the government to engage with him.
However, so far there has been no public dialogue between the government and Wangchuk.
The protest organised with support from the satirical political movement Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has become a broader confrontation over questions of accountability, student concerns and the government’s response to public dissent.
Wangchuk has spent the past 20 days consuming only salt and water. According to CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, the activist has lost more than nine kilograms and is experiencing a significant decline in his physical strength.
Standing before supporters at Jantar Mantar, Wangchuk acknowledged his condition but insisted he would continue.
The immediate trigger for the protest is the NEET-UG examination scandal, after a question paper leak led to the cancellation of the medical entrance examination taken by more than two million candidates.
The protesters argue that Pradhan should accept moral responsibility and resign.
Pradhan, however has dismissed CJP and its supporters as “the B-team of disruptive elements” while the government has not indicated any move towards talks.
On Thursday, former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal visited Wangchuk at Jantar Mantar and appealed to the government to listen to students and the activist.
“Every year, exam papers get leaked and youth pay the price,” Kejriwal said. He also demanded Pradhan’s removal from office.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah questioned why the government had not attempted dialogue with Wangchuk, comparing the situation with the 2011 hunger strike by anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare when the then Congress-led government sent ministers to engage with him.
“Politics has its place but there must also be a room for humanity and compassion,” Abdullah said.
Other opposition leaders including Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and Nationalist Congress Party leader Rohit Pawar have also expressed support or contacted Wangchuk, according to CJP.
Some leaders have appealed to him to end the hunger strike over concerns about his health while others have backed his planned march to Parliament on July 20.
Yadav accused the BJP government of showing “insensitivity and heartlessness” while Pawar alleged that major television channels were ignoring the protest and claimed an “undeclared ban on the media” was being imposed to suppress the movement.
Those allegations have not been addressed by the government.
The Delhi High Court has also stepped into the matter, directing authorities to regularly monitor Wangchuk’s health and provide medical assistance if required.
The government’s response or lack of one has now become as significant as the original demand behind the protest.
For Wangchuk’s supporters, the hunger strike is about seeking accountability over a major examination controversy. For the Modi government which has so far refused to engage publicly with the protest, it has become a test of how it responds to growing pressure from opposition parties, civil society groups and a weakened but determined activist sitting at the heart of India’s capital.
