Sonam Wangchuk hunger strike LIVE: CJP, students continue protests at Jantar Mantar as Wangchuk refuses treatment

Sonam Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali J. Angmo announced on Sunday (July 19) she will approach the Delhi High Court to move the activist to a different hospital. 

“I have lost faith in Safdarjung Government Hospital,” Ms. Gitanjali said in a post on X.

“The hospital told us Wangchuk’s potassium had dropped to 2.9, describing it as alarming and life-threatening. Yet, in its public health bulletin, it conveniently omitted the actual number, referring only to “decreasing potassium levels.“ An independent laboratory test reported 3.5, well within the normal range,” she added. 

Activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is currently in Safdarjung hospital after he was forcefully shifted there by the Delhi Police, appealed students on Sunday (July 19) to join what he called ‘India’s second freedom movement’ on July 20. 

The Cockroach Janta Party has planned a march to the Parliament on July 20 on the first day of the Monsoon Session to demand Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG exam paper. 

Mr. Wangchuk, in a post on X, called on students to make the march to the Parliament ‘a big success’. 

“India’s 2nd freedom movement. Freedom from injustice. Freedom from fear,” Mr. Wangchuk said. 

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Dalit Sangharsha Samiti (DSS) State convener D.G. Sagar on Saturday (July 18) accused the BJP-led Union government of failing to ensure transparency in the conduct of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged irregularities.

Addressing a press conference in Kalaburagi city, Mr. Sagar urged the Centre to remove Mr. Pradhan from the Union Cabinet, holding him responsible for the alleged lapses in the conduct of the examination.

Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) National President Chirag Paswan alleged that several opposition parties were using activist Sonam Wangchuk as the face of their political campaign after “losing their political ground” and expressed concern over Mr. Wangchuk’s deteriorating health amid his ongoing hunger strike.

Speaking to ANI on the protest at Jantar Mantar, Mr. Paswan said, “It is unfortunate that several opposition parties, having lost their political ground, appear to be using Sonam Wangchuk as the face. One person has been left to continue a hunger strike while everyone is worried about his deteriorating health.”

-ANI

Administering IV fluids and initiating nutritional support are essential for the health of activist Sonam Wangchuk, a senior doctor at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital has said and noted that beyond a certain point, the situation can become critical for the patient.

Dr. Suranjit Chatterjee, Senior Consultant in Internal Medicine at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, said the issued report also indicates “compensated metabolic acidosis.”

-ANI

Security personnel deployed outside the premises of VMMC and Safdarjung hospital where climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was admitted after his health deteriorated on the 21st day of his indefinite hunger strike. 

Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief and Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad visited the protest site at Jantar Mantar. 

Activist Anna Hazare on Saturday (July 18, 2026) said the Union government should hold talks with educationist Sonam Wangchuk.

“The government should not test his limits. Say yes or no (to his demands) but what is wrong in holding discussions,” Mr. Hazare said in a video message.

Read Anna Hazare’s statement here

Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Sunday (July 19) addressed protesters at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, applauding Sonam Wangchuk for his hunger strike. 

“It is my second day of hunger strike; now I know how difficult it is. I salute Sonam Sir and the students here for their hunger strike. I am conserving energy for the march tomorrow,” Mr. Dipke said, referring to the Parliament march the CJP will undertake on Monday (July 20) on the first day of the Monsoon Session. 

Mr. Dipke sat on an indefinite hunger strike on Saturday (July 18) against Delhi Police’s action on Mr. Wangchuk, who was forcibly shifted to Safdarjung hospital on day 21 of his fast. 

Protests continued at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Sunday morning (July 19) against the police action on activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was whisked away on Saturday to Safdarjung hospital. 

Mr. Wangchuk was on an indefinite strike demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. Cockroach Janta Party’s founder Abhijeet Dipke, who also sat on an indefinite hunger strike on Saturday after Mr. Wangchuk was forcible moved to the hospital, posted a picture on X showing Jantar Mantar packed with students and supporters of the CJP.

The CPI(M) Tripura state committee will organise rallies across the state in solidarity with the Cockroadh Janata Party (CJP)’s proposed ‘Parliament March’ scheduled for July 20, a senior leader said on Saturday (July 18).

“We strongly condemn and express concern over the way Sonam Wangchuk was forcefully picked up by police personnel and got admitted to a Delhi hospital citing the Supreme Court’s order. It is a serious matter”, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state assembly, Jitendra Chaudhury, said at a press conference.

According to him, the CPI(M) will organise statewide rallies in solidarity with the CJP’s ‘Parliament March’ to make the people’s voice louder against the alleged misgovernance of the Narendra Modi government.

-PTI

Actor Sonakshi Sinha, singer Vishal Dadlani and actor Parvathy Thiruvothu have expressed their disappointment over the way educationist Sonam Wangchuk was shifted to a hospital from the protest spot where he has been on an indefinite hunger strike.

In an Instagram video, Ms. Sinha said, “The thing that happened with Sonam sir today wasn’t right. I am glad that he’s okay and that his wife is with him. He’s strong, he’s alert. In the last few days, I have been seeing him and the thousands standing with him.” The actor praised students for standing with Wangchuk and continuing with their non-violent protests.

-PTI

Left parties on Saturday (July 18, 2026) condemned the police action against activist Sonam Wangchuk and protesters at Jantar Mantar, and accused the Centre of suppressing democratic dissent instead of addressing the alleged irregularities in the NEET examination, while extending support to the continuing student-led agitation.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation said the protest would continue despite Mr. Wangchuk’s removal from the protest site, with three members of its student wing AISA — Neha, Manish and Aameen — continuing their indefinite hunger strike. The party also appealed to people to join the July 20 Parliament march.

Read the story here

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke on Saturday (July 18) lashed out at the Delhi Police and the BJP led Centre for forcibly hospitalising Sonam Wangchuk, who has been on a hunger strike in delhi for 21 days, demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.

‘Until now, we were demanding Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, but after this despicable act, we will now demand the resignation of Narendra Modi,” Mr. Dipke said.

Even as activist Sonam Wangchuk was taken to the hospital on Saturday morning (July 18, 2026) as he entered the 21st day of his hunger strike at a protest in Jantar Mantar, called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), at least 21 protesters, from across the country, continued their hunger strike despite deteriorating health conditions, asserting that Mr. Wangchuk’s removal from the site has only strengthened their resolve to continue until Dharmendra Pradhan resigns as the Union Education Minister.

Read the story here

The Cockroach Janta Party continued overnight protests on Sunday (July 19, 2026) at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar against the BJP government, demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.

CJP’s spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka posted a video on X of students gathered at Jantar Mantar singing Vande Mataram. 

FAIMA Doctors Association has written to the President of India Droupadi Murmu seeking urgent intervention on repeated NEET irregularities,accountability of the NTA & structural reforms in the examination system. 

The association has also requested transparent twice-daily medical bulletins on Sonam Wangchuk’s health following his hospitalisation.

Right as Sonam Wangchuk entered the 21st day of his fast, authorities whisked him away, covering his path from the stage at the Jantar Mantar protest site to the waiting ambulance with a wall of white curtains. Mr. Wangchuk tried to raise his hand beyond the curtains, and it appeared for a split second before he was ushered in and sped off.

Mr. Wangchuk, 59, has emerged as an unlikely symbol of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)’s weeks-long youth-led protests across the country, now centred in the heart of the capital. The mythology surrounding Mr. Wangchuk is ever evolving: from stories of how he concealed his family pedigree — his father Sonam Wangyal, a mountaineer and former MLA — to gain admission to an engineering college as an ordinary student, to becoming the face of climate demonstrations in ecologically sensitive Ladakh in 2023, and, last year, to championing the region’s demand for greater autonomy.

Here’s Sonam Wangchuk’s profile

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Saturday (July 18) said his colleague Dharmendra Pradhan need not resign over the NEET paper leak, claiming that action has been taken against those involved in the scam.

He also said Sonam Wangchuk should call of his hunger strike, assuring that steps will be taken by the government to ensure that paper leak does not happen again.

“There is no need for Dharmendra Pradhan to resign. NEET paper leak is not a good thing for us, but it is not as if no action has been taken in this regard,” Mr. Athawale told reporters on the sidelines of an event.

-PTI

Activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been on a 21-day hunger strike, is showing signs of dehydration and urgently requires fluid and electrolyte therapy to prevent potentially serious complications, even as he and his family declined the recommended treatment despite repeated counselling, Safdarjung Hospital authorities said on Saturday (July 18).

Mr. Wangchuk remains conscious and haemodynamically stable, with his pulse, blood pressure and oxygen saturation currently within normal limits, the hospital said in a statement issued around 9 p.m.

However, it said his prolonged fast has led to clinical signs of dehydration, making immediate oral or intravenous fluid and electrolyte therapy medically necessary.

-PTI

The Delhi Police was instructed by the Union government to shift activist Sonam Wangchuk from the protest site at Jantar Mantar due to the upcoming Monsoon session of the Parliament, which commences on Monday (July 20, 2026), government sources said.

The police and other security agencies also apprehended a law and order situation in the national capital, metres away from the Parliament House, as the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has announced a rally to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in the wake of the NEET examination paper leak.

Here’s the full story