Abhijeet Dipke Ends His Hunger Strike After Sonam Wangchuk’s Appeal Before the Parliament March

Image: psuindia.com

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke ended his hunger strike on Monday morning after activist Sonam Wangchuk asked him to do so while receiving treatment in hospital. Wangchuk’s message was shared by his wife, educator Gitanjali Angmo, from the protest stage at Jantar Mantar. She said Wangchuk wanted Dipke to save his strength for the protest ahead. After the announcement, Dipke broke his fast by drinking juice and then joined the march to Parliament. The father of NEET aspirant Riya Kumari, who died by suicide, also took part in the march.

Dipke and Angmo later got onto a slow-moving truck leading the march as thousands of CJP supporters walked behind them. Using a loudspeaker, Dipke repeatedly raised the slogan, “Dharmendra Pradhan must resign.”

At the same time, senior CJP leader Saurav Das said the Centre had contacted the party for talks. In a post on X, Das said he and party leader Ashutosh Ranka were on their way to meet BJP president J.P. Nadda after the government reached out earlier in the morning. He said the party’s demands remained the same and added that a large number of young people had gathered for the protest. The march was paused while the meeting was taking place.

Dipke began his hunger strike on Saturday after Delhi Police removed Wangchuk from the protest site at Jantar Mantar and admitted him to Safdarjung Hospital. The police said the step was taken because of Wangchuk’s health and the Delhi High Court’s directions. Wangchuk has been on a 21-day hunger strike as part of the CJP protest, which is asking for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged leaks in competitive exams, including NEET-UG.

Thousands of students and young people from different parts of the country reached Delhi to support the protest. On Monday morning, they marched towards Parliament, where the Monsoon Session is set to begin, to press for their demands. At least five Delhi Metro stations were closed as part of the security plan.

Security was tightened across central Delhi to stop the protesters from reaching Parliament. Around 32 companies of paramilitary forces, with nearly 2,000 personnel carrying riot control equipment and tear gas, were deployed in the area. Delhi Police also asked for 1,400 more personnel after the crowd grew larger.

A few hours before the march began, CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka spoke to the crowd and asked protesters to raise only three slogans: “Bharat Mata ki Jai,” “Inquilab Zindabad,” and “Dharmendra Pradhan istifa do.” He urged people to stay calm and peaceful and warned them not to react if someone tried to provoke them. Ranka said the protest had remained peaceful for the past 30 days and asked supporters to keep the same approach during the march to Parliament.