Sonam Wangchuk Sets Three Conditions to End Hunger Strike, Says Fast Will Continue Until Parliament March Concludes
Sonam Wangchuk Sets Three Conditions to End Hunger Strike, Says Fast Will Continue Until Parliament March Concludes
New Delhi, July 20: Education reformer and activist Sonam Wangchuk has said he will end his ongoing hunger strike only if one of three conditions is met. The 59-year-old, currently undergoing treatment at Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi, shared his conditions in a message posted on his official X account on Monday, the day his organisation had planned its 'Sansad Chalo' march to Parliament.
In his message to supporters, Wangchuk stated that his fast would continue at least until the Parliament march concludes, irrespective of his health condition.
According to Wangchuk, his primary demand is for the Central Government to publicly accept responsibility for alleged shortcomings in the country's education system, particularly the recent examination paper leak controversies.
If that demand is not accepted, he proposed two alternative options. One is to allow him and members of the Citizens' Justice Platform (CJP) to reach the gates of Parliament, where Members of Parliament from across political parties would assure them that the issue would be raised inside the House.
The third option, earlier announced by his wife Gitanjali Angmo at Jantar Mantar, calls for political leaders to visit him at Safdarjung Hospital and publicly commit to raising the issue of accountability in the education system during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament.
The Central Government has not yet issued any public response to the demands.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court has declined a plea filed by Wangchuk's family seeking his transfer from Safdarjung Hospital to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram. Justice Mini Pushkarna observed that no interim relief was warranted at this stage.
The protest has also received political support from the Congress. According to reports, senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi recalled that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had met Wangchuk's father during his 1984 hunger strike for Scheduled Tribe status for Ladakh and urged the party to extend its support to the current agitation.
Wangchuk, an engineer and education reformer, has previously led several high-profile hunger strikes, including campaigns seeking statehood and Sixth Schedule protections for Ladakh. His latest protest has brought renewed national attention to concerns over the integrity and accountability of India's examination system.
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