As Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike entered its 20th day and the “Cockroach” party continued its protest, Prime Minister Narendra Modi faced criticism for his reluctance to hold press conferences.
On Friday, the Delhi heat had relented only but a little to settle on 39 degree Celsius, although the “feels like” temperature was still 46 degrees.
And yet, the crowds gathered by the hundreds at the capital’s most famous protest spot — outside a 300-year-old astronomical observatory.
At Jantar Mantar, protesters gathered as the hunger strike of activist Sonam Wangchuk and four others calling for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan reached the twentieth day.
Wangchuk, along with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and other organizations, are demanding Pradhan’s resignation over alleged exam irregularities.
‘A call to duty,’ protester says
For CJP volunteer Ankit Yadav, who is from Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh, some 300 kilometers from New Delhi, it was a call to duty after a neighbor died by suicide due to the cancellation of an exam whose question paper had been leaked.
“I knew I had to do something,” he said. “No one else was doing anything.”
He said seeing all the people gives him hope and motivates him, even though no one from the government has reached out to the protesters.
Shyam, an auto rickshaw driver, said he had been giving some students free rides to the protest site.
“This is the least I can do. I am doing this for my young children and their future.”
Also at the protest was Rahul. His son had taken an exam for government jobs, the SSC Stenographer Exam in 2025. While the results were declared on June 18, they were withdrawn the next day “suspecting inaccurate evaluation,” according to authorities.
“Now all the youngsters who celebrated their selection are depressed and facing an uncertain future,” Rahul said. “That’s why I am here on their behalf.”
The cacophony of sounds blended speeches from the stage, where CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke addressed the crowd, with loud patriotic music emanating elsewhere.
There were also hosts of policemen stationed on the ground overseeing extensive security checks, with a banner right up ahead reading, “The heat of young blood will melt the valley of snow.”
Alongside Sonam Wangchuk, three students are also on hunger strike, demanding the resignation of India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Neha, Manish and Aameen on Friday continued their protest despite their deteriorating health conditions.
The three are members of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and PhD scholars at different universities.
Doctors affiliated with the Delhi government have been monitoring the health of the protesters twice a day. Three other hunger strikers have already withdrawn from the protest due to health concerns.
AISA Delhi president Saiyed was seated opposite his fellow protesters as they rested on makeshift beds at the protest site.
He said his colleagues wanted to continue the hunger strike to highlight the lives lost to suicides allegedly linked to irregularities in the highly competitive National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG, the entrance examination for medical colleges in India.
It will be months before they will be able to eat properly, but they want their voices to be heard, he said.
