CJP protest: Over 1,800 civil society members urge Sonam Wangchuk to end hunger strike

More than 1,800 members of civil society on Tuesday urged activist Sonam Wangchuk to withdraw his hunger strike in Delhi.

Wangchuk’s fast is part of the protest by the political campaign Cockroach Janta Party to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on account of alleged mismanagement in conducting competitive exams.

In an open letter, the signatories, who include academics, artists and activists, said that while they support those on hunger strike, they were also concerned about the protesters’ health.

Wangchuk had begun the hunger strike at Jantar Mantar on June 28.

Abhijeet Dipke, who founded the campaign, said on Tuesday that after 17 days of the hunger strike, Wangchuk had started losing muscle mass and was in “immense pain”.

Dipke added that he had “begged him to end his fast”. He quoted Wangchuk as having asked in response why the Union government was not willing to hold a dialogue with the protesters.

In their letter, the signatories said that they were appealing for an end to the hunger strike because the Union government “does not have a heart or a conscience”.

The signatories include actors Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah, author Arundhati Roy, academics Nivedita Menon and Jean Drèze, and activists Lalita Ramdas and Kavita Srivastava.

They said that “we have seen time again how they have behaved in the most inhuman and dastardly manner” with protesters.

“We worry that their negligence in responding to your demands will only further worsen the already fragile state of health that many of you are in,” they said.

The civil society members also said that the hunger strike should be withdrawn “in the interests of the longer and more difficult struggle” ahead. “This battle is a marathon not a sprint and we need you, your strength and leadership in the days to come,” they added.

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After holding its first protest at Jantar Mantar on June 6, the Cockroach Janta Party – which started as a satirical political campaign – organised demonstrations in several cities demanding the resignation of Pradhan.

Wangchuk had participated in the protest in Delhi on June 6.

The campaign was launched on May 16 in response to reports of remarks by Chief Justice Surya Kant on the previous day comparing some unemployed youngsters to “cockroaches”. Within a week, the campaign had garnered more than 22 million followers on social media platform Instagram.

The chief justice claimed on May 16 that he had been misquoted by sections of the media and that it was baseless to say that he criticised young people in general. Kant claimed he had specifically criticised “those who have entered professions like the Bar [legal profession] with the aid of fake and bogus degrees”.

Written by Nachiket Deuskar. Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

Also read:

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