Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke announced a hunger strike after Delhi Police began removing protestors at Jantar Mantar post ‘forcefully’ taking climate activist Sonam Wangchuk to hospital today. Members of the left-wing student organisations, including All India Students Federation (AISF), the Students' Federation of India (SFI), and All India Students' Association (AISA), on Saturday joined a protest.
The protestors have been demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan after the NEET paper leak fiasco. The joint demonstration witnessed students and political activists raising slogans and carrying placards to press their various demands.
"I am commencing my indefinite hunger strike starting today. I appeal to everyone: do not back down. This movement will only grow larger. They have made a grave mistake. I urge everyone to come to Jantar Mantar. Our movement will continue from here, and we will proceed with our march scheduled for July 20th," the CJP founder announced from the dias.
This comes after Wangchuk was taken away to Safdarjung Hospital by Delhi Police this morning after completing 20 days of his hunger strike. The development came two days ahead of a proposed march to Parliament on July 20 by Wangchuk and his supporters. A heavy deployment of Delhi Police personnel was seen at the protest site as the protesters were asked to vacate the area.
As this happened, the student protestors formed a human chain to protect other activists sitting on hunger strike, including Neha Bora, a PhD scholar from JNU, from police action.
In a post shared on X, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) New Delhi Sachin Sharma said Wangchuk was shifted to the hospital in compliance with the Delhi High Court's directions and on the advice of medical experts due to his deteriorating health.
"As per orders of Hon'ble High Court and on expert medical advice due to the deteriorating health condition of Sh. Sonam Wangchuk has been shifted to the hospital for essential medical care. While complying with the orders of the Hon'ble High Court, the protestors tried to create obstruction, in which a slight commotion ensued; however, police took maximum restraint and undertook the exercise safely," the DCP said.
"We request the protestors at Jantar Mantar to peacefully vacate the place at the earliest," he added.
Meanwhile, the police action drew sharp criticism from several Opposition leaders. AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the government was suppressing peaceful protests, while Trinamool Congress leader Sagarika Ghose and Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav also condemned the action.
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