Sonam Wangchuk joins Cockroach Party's protest, begins fast over exam paper leaks

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk on Sunday began a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in support of the Cockroach Janata Party's protest over alleged irregularities in examinations and its demand for accountability and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The protest, which began on June 20, drew hundreds of demonstrators, mostly youth and students, along with several farmer leaders and representatives of the Sarv Khap Panchayat.

Before starting his fast, Wangchuk and CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke visited Rajghat and paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. The gathering then observed a two-minute silence. The protest also became a platform for other student-related grievances, including a demand for justice by the family of a Jaipur schoolgirl who died after falling from the fourth floor of her school last year.

Explaining why he joined the agitation, Wangchuk said he had long been committed to education. "I have been forced to sit here, I am not doing this happily. I am sitting on a fast in support of both issues. Many people ask me, you were doing a movement in Ladakh, why are you with CJP now. Education, which is the issue here, has been close to my heart for the last 40 years, since I was a student," he said. "I did engineering, but never took a job because I felt the key to all generations is in education. When some youth raise their voices on issues with the education system, how could I have remained silent? It was natural for me to support them," Wangchuk added.

He said the focus should be on using education to "build children's lives and give direction to the nation." Referring to his work in Ladakh, he said protecting the Himalayas was everyone's responsibility as billions of people depend on water originating in the region. "I wish the government had shown sensitivity, we would not have had to go through this and sit here in such heat," he said.

Wangchuk added that peaceful protest remained the only option in a democracy when there was no accountability. "When there is no accountability, we are forced to take the only way possible in a democracy – peaceful protest, and we will do that," he said. He also praised the young protesters who were fasting despite the heat and appealed to people to make it a community hunger strike by observing at least a day-long fast.

Wangchuk was released from Jodhpur prison in March 2026 after spending nearly six months in detention under the National Security Act for his involvement in the Ladakh statehood protest that had turned violent.

Earlier, Dipke had appealed to farmers, students and organisations to join the protest and back the demand for accountability. On Sunday morning, he said on X that several farmers' leaders from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab were being placed under house arrest to stop them from reaching Jantar Mantar. Khap representatives later alleged that around 500 farmer leaders and members of organisations had been stopped from coming to Delhi.

Representatives of the Sarv Khap Panchayat joined the protest and tied a pagdi on Dipke, with coordinator Omprakash Dhankar saying, "This pagdi is a responsibility. With this, we are handing over the responsibility to him."

The family of Amaira, a Class 6 student who died last year after falling from the fourth floor of Neerja Modi School in Jaipur in an alleged suicide case, also joined the protest. Her parents alleged that no action had been taken against the school or teacher and that police had still not filed a chargesheet.

"We send our children to school with some trust. It was not negligence, it was murder by the school. She was very kind and spread goodness in the world. Today would have been her 10th birthday," her mother said.

Dipke said the matter should remain in public memory and alleged that the police and school had tried to suppress it when it happened. He added that the issue was not limited to a single case and alleged that there were several such incidents involving students.

Farmer leader Akshay Kumar from Odisha, Pradhan's home state, said the minister would face political consequences if he did not resign. "If Pradhan does not resign, he will be defeated in the next polls," he said. Pradhan is a Lok Sabha MP from the Sambalpur constituency in Odisha.

Farmer leader Attar Singh Kadian criticised the BJP, saying it was not capable of running the government and should step down. Dhankar also accused the BJP of coming to power on unfulfilled promises. As the Jantar Mantar protest continued, the core demands remained accountability over alleged examination irregularities, including NEET, and action from the government.

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