Doctors said Sonam Wangchuk has entered a critical phase of prolonged fasting, warning that his organs could be affected if his condition worsens. As the Delhi High Court ordered daily health monitoring, political leaders, public figures and legal bodies urged him to end his fast, but he remained resolute.
“I don’t want to say this, but Sonam Wangchuk is on his deathbed,” Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke said in an emotional appeal on Thursday.
Dipke, who has shared the stage with the climate activist since Wangchuk began his indefinite hunger strike at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on June 28, made the remarks in a video released by the CJP. Wangchuk has been demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over a series of examination paper leaks, including NEET.
In the video, Dipke said Wangchuk had become so frail that “his bones are visible.” He also claimed the activist narrowly escaped falling twice while walking to the washroom on Thursday.
Videos that surfaced on social media the same day appeared to underscore his deteriorating condition. A visibly weak Wangchuk was seen stepping down from the stage with the support of several people, including Dipke, as he made his way to the washroom with slow, faltering steps.
Yet, despite his condition, he paused to smile and wave at supporters — many of them students and parents who had travelled from Delhi-NCR and other parts of the country.
Dipke also recalled trying to persuade Wangchuk to end his fast on Thursday, only to be firmly rebuffed.
“You just shut up. Don’t ask me to stop my hunger strike. Ask why the government is not listening to us,” Wangchuk told him, according to the video shared on the CJP’s official YouTube channel.