Hunger strike will continue till youth leaders meet MPs: Sonam Wangchuk
Activist Sonam Wangchuk on Monday said he would continue his indefinite hunger strike until student leaders protesting the NEET-UG paper leak are allowed to meet
Activist Sonam Wangchuk on Monday said he would continue his indefinite hunger strike until student leaders protesting the NEET-UG paper leak are allowed to meet Members of Parliament or MPs visit him at the Delhi hospital where he is currently admitted. In a handwritten note shared by his wife, Gitanjali Angmo, on social media, Wangchuk expressed solidarity with the protesters demonstrating under the banner of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), a satirical political outfit spearheading the agitation and demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged examination irregularities. Read Full Story "I will continue my fast (day 23). Seeing the brutality with which peacefully protesting youth are being dealt with, I have decided to continue my fast until the youth leaders are allowed to meet the Parliamentarians at the Sansad Bhawan, or I am allowed to meet them here at the hospital," Wangchuk wrote in the signed note. He said he hoped the government would "fix the accountability of the Education Minister" and praised the students for maintaining peace despite what he described as provocation.
"I am touched and moved by how the youth have held on to peace despite provocation and I appeal to the government and the police to resolve the issue by simply allowing the students to present their grievances before Parliament today or tomorrow," he added. PROTEST SITE CLEARED, AGITATION CONTINUES Wangchuk's statement came hours after Delhi Police stopped thousands of protesters marching towards Parliament on the first day of the Monsoon Session. Security personnel used tear gas and carried out baton charges after protesters attempted to march towards Parliament demanding accountability over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak and Pradhan's resignation. Later in the day, police dismantled the CJP protest site at Jantar Mantar, removing the stage where Wangchuk had been observing his fast along with mattresses, carpets and other materials. Despite the action, protesters regrouped at Jantar Mantar and vowed to continue their agitation. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke addressed supporters from a vehicle fitted with loudspeakers, while one protest leader claimed that a delegation had met Union Minister JP Nadda. He, however, said the agitation would continue until the Education Minister resigns.
The CJP began with a one-day demonstration at Jantar Mantar on June 6 before expanding into an indefinite sit-in and hunger strike. HIGH COURT TO DECIDE ON HOSPITAL SHIFT Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Monday sought Wangchuk's latest pathological reports and health bulletins from Safdarjung Hospital and said it would decide on Tuesday whether to allow his transfer to a private hospital. A bench headed by Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya directed Safdarjung Hospital to place Wangchuk's latest medical reports on record. It also asked AIIMS doctors treating him and the doctor who had previously attended him to remain present during the hearing. The court further directed Angmo to submit reports of blood tests that were conducted at a private laboratory at her request. Angmo has challenged a single judge's order refusing to interfere with Wangchuk's treatment at Safdarjung Hospital. She argued that her husband was effectively being confined to the government hospital despite not being under arrest and that his right to decide his own medical treatment had been compromised. On Sunday, the single judge had held that the authorities were justified in shifting Wangchuk to Safdarjung Hospital after his health deteriorated during the hunger strike and observed that doctors should continue monitoring him in accordance with medical protocol.
The BriefWire