New Delhi: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)’s protest at Jantar Mantar entered its 15th day Saturday, drawing fresh political support from AAP MP Sanjay Singh and CPI(M) MP John Brittas, while climate activist Sonam Wangchuk continued the seventh day of his hunger strike. All India Students’ Association (AISA) said one of its fasting student leaders was hospitalised after her condition turned critical.
AISA said JNUSU Joint Secretary Danish Ali was admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital Saturday evening after her blood sugar level dropped to 46 mg/dL following seven days of fasting.
The organisation said she was admitted to the hospital for intravenous fluids, while five other AISA activists — Neha, Manish, Hrishikesh, Deepak and Aameen — continued their indefinite hunger strike along with Wangchuk and other protesters.
Addressing a gathering, Sanjay Singh accused the BJP government of ignoring students despite repeated examination controversies and questioned why BJP leaders had not visited the protest site.
“All political parties are here expressing solidarity with a genuine demand of the youngsters of the country. Who is stopping BJP leaders from coming here and supporting the students?” he said.
The AAP leader said the opposition would raise the issue forcefully during the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
“I want to tell the prime minister that he should find a solution, otherwise we will not let Parliament function,” Singh said.
Appealing to Delhi Police, he said, “Do not use lathis on these students”.
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas, who said he had come from Kerala to express solidarity, described the agitation as a nationwide struggle to protect the future of young people.
“I have come from Kerala to express my solidarity with this protest. It is a spontaneous protest,” he said, alleging that the country had “never seen such an insensitive and irresponsible government”.
Referring to repeated allegations of examination irregularities, Brittas said almost every major examination conducted by the Union government had come under question and urged young people to lead the fight for democratic rights and public education.
He also said opposition parties would continue to raise the issue inside and outside Parliament.
Addressing the protesters, Wangchuk again stressed the need for accountability.
“If we are forcefully removed, it would be a blot on India internationally that peaceful protesters were removed,” he said, adding that the protesters were only demanding accountability in education.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke earlier said Wangchuk had lost five kilograms and that his condition was worsening with each passing day.
“How much longer will the Prime Minister wait before sacking Dharmendra Pradhan?” Dipke asked in a post on X, adding that if anything happened to Wangchuk, the government would be responsible.
The CJP also released an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to break what it called his “resounding silence” over the agitation and hold Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accountable for alleged examination paper leaks and student suicides.
The letter said Wangchuk’s hunger strike was intended to exert “moral pressure” on the government and questioned why there had been no response despite 15 days of protests.
It also reiterated allegations that Delhi Police assaulted students and threw books, including those on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, B R Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh, during an attempt to set up a library at the protest site.
Late on Friday night, Wangchuk welcomed progress in talks between the Centre and representatives of the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance over Ladakh’s demands and urged the government to now “pay attention to accountability in education”.
His remarks came after the two Ladakh bodies said they had resolved differences with the Ministry of Home Affairs over the minutes of an earlier meeting, paving the way for the next phase of formal negotiations.
The agitation also received support from the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), which announced that a delegation would visit Jantar Mantar on Sunday.
In a letter to CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, the farmers’ body said it stood in “wholehearted solidarity” with the protest, describing the struggle of students and youth as inseparable from that of farmers, and urged the government to begin action by securing Pradhan’s resignation.
The protest, which began on June 20 over alleged irregularities in examinations including NEET, has drawn support from a wide cross-section of political leaders and civil society members, including M A Baby, Brinda Karat, D Raja, Annie Raja, Dipankar Bhattacharya, Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Anjali Bhardwaj, Nikhil Dey, Sagarika Ghose and Mahua Moitra.
