India's Cockroach protesters set to march to parliament
Thousands of students, parents, activists and political leaders are set to march to the Indian parliament following a call from the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)
Thousands of students, parents, activists and political leaders are set to march to the Indian parliament following a call from the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) for reforms in the education system. The protesters have been gathering at the protest venue in Delhi since Sunday and scores of police and paramilitaries have been deployed. Chaos erupted on Saturday when activist and educator Sonam Wangchuk, who was on day 21 of his hunger-strike in CJP's support, was forcibly taken to hospital. He continues fasting there.
Founded by Abhijeet Dipke, the CJP emerged in May as an online satirical movement to protest against paper leaks and irregularities in exams and has gained a huge following. The protesters, who call themselves cockroaches, have been sitting at Jantar Mantar, a 300-year-old observatory in Delhi, for a month now. Members of some student organisations have also joined Wangchuk in his fast. Wangchuk's fast in the scorching Delhi summer had drawn a lot of attention. He had been consuming just salt and water and had lost more than 9kg (1.4 stone) and was in a lot of pain.
Despite the discomfort, he had vowed to take part in the march to parliament and jokingly told his supporters that if he were to die, his ghost would join the protest. But on Saturday, chaos erupted just before 07:30 local time (02:00 GMT) when dozens of police and paramilitary personnel swooped in on the stage where the activist was lying down. Protesters who tried to stop them were pushed away. The policemen covered him with curtains of bedsheets before removing him from the stage.
He was taken away in an ambulance and admitted to government-run Safdarjung Hospital. The activist's wife Gitanjali Angmo has said that he continues to be on fast there and has refused food and drinks. On Sunday, she said, "Sonam will end his hunger strike if political leaders meet him at the hospital and assure him that the issue of education accountability will be the main issue during the parliament session."
The BriefWire