It has been 17 days since activist Sonam Wangchuk began his hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi with the Cockroach Janata Party. Calls for Wangchuk to call off his indefinite hunger strike grew on Tuesday as Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke shared an update on his health. Taking to X, Dipke said Wangchuk has started to lose muscle mass and is in immense pain.
Swara meets Sonam Wangchuk
Several actors took to social media to share their views on the hunger strike and urged action. Swara Bhasker was seen at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday, where she met Sonam and Abhijeet. The official Instagram account of Cockroach Janta Party shared a pair of pictures showing Swara at the protest site. “Unapologetic & fearless actress Swara Bhaskar Joins the protest at Jantar Mantar!” read the caption.
Swara shared the post on her Instagram Stories and wrote for Abhijeet, “Thank you for fighting for the future of all of our children.” She wrote for Wangchuk’s unending hunger strike, “The indefatigable Sonam Wangchuk sir is fighting for your children’s future. All my solidarity and gratitude.”
Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike
The CJP has been holding a protest at Jantar Mantar demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination. Sonam joined the agitation on June 28 and has been on an indefinite fast since then. The organisation has announced a march to Parliament on July 20.
Writer Arundhati Roy, actors Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah, filmmaker Sanjay Kak, and others appealed to the CJP to end the indefinite hunger strike on Monday. “We request you to please consider ending this hunger strike immediately in the interests of the longer and more difficult struggle ahead. This battle is a marathon, not a sprint, and we need you, your strength and leadership in the days to come,” read a portion of their statement.
Meanwhile, Omi Vaidya shared a video on social media, introducing himself as “Chatur from 3 Idiots” before making an emotional appeal. Referring to Aamir Khan’s character from the film, he said, “I don’t want Funsukh Wangdu to die.” He added, “Right now, he is on a very long hunger strike. His blood sugar has gone down very much. I don’t know if you’ve heard about this. I don’t know if the media is reporting this. But this is a pretty important thing.”