Guwahati: Activist Sonam Wangchuk on Wednesday said he is prepared to end his hunger strike if the Centre guarantees that students participating in protests over the NEET paper leak will not face any legal or retaliatory action.
In a letter addressed to Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh, Wangchuk urged the government to provide a clear assurance that no punitive measures would be taken against the young protesters, who he said were peacefully demanding transparency and accountability in the education system.
The 59-year-old education reformer has been fasting since June 28 as part of the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) campaign seeking accountability for the alleged NEET paper leak and demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Wangchuk was removed by police from the protest site at Jantar Mantar on Saturday after nearly three weeks of fasting but declined to end his protest. He is currently undergoing treatment at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram while continuing his indefinite fast.
Sharing an update from his hospital bed, Wangchuk said he had lost 11 kilograms during the protest. In a video message posted on social media, he remarked, “Mai abhi zinda hoon” (“I am still alive”) and commended the students for maintaining peace despite what he described as repeated provocations.
He also expressed gratitude to Nadda and Singh for visiting him at the hospital. According to Wangchuk, the ministers indicated that the government would consider providing compensation to the families of NEET aspirants who allegedly died by suicide following the paper leak controversy. They also conveyed that the issue, including demands for accountability and calls for the education minister’s resignation, could be discussed in Parliament.
Referring to Monday’s march towards Parliament, Wangchuk maintained that the demonstration remained peaceful despite alleging excessive police action against protesters.
He said nearly 65 Members of Parliament had appealed to him to call off his fast and acknowledged his desire to return to his work in education. However, he insisted he could not do so without securing protection for the students leading the movement.
Wangchuk reiterated that he would immediately withdraw his fast if the government publicly assured that no participant in the protests would face legal consequences. Without such a commitment, he said, he would continue the hunger strike indefinitely, expressing hope that the authorities would refrain from using force against demonstrators.