Environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk collects a document as he receives written assurances of parliamentary discussion on the alleged NEET paper leak and zero legal action on CJP’s ‘Sansad Chalo’ protesters; and ends his hunger strike, in Gurugram on Friday. Sonam Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali J. Angmo, also present.
| Photo Credit: ANI
After being denied access to activist Sonam Wangchuk for two days, a civil society group from Ladakh was “woken up from sleep” on Thursday (July 23) night and rushed to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram to stand witness to Mr. Wangchuk breaking his 26-day hunger strike.
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As thousands of people continued to flock to Jantar Mantar, where members of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) are sitting on a dharna to demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, despite metro stations being closed and an Internet shutdown in place, the Union Government worked all through the night to find a way out of the crowd build-up that sees no sign of abating.
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With Delhi University colleges reopening on July 28 and the weekend approaching, the government hastened channels of communication with the CJP team and Mr. Wangchuk to ensure that the protest is wound up before a major incident takes place.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi dropped a video in selfie mode on Instagram at 11.52 p.m. on Thursday, assuring the students that several steps against paper leaks and reforms in the education system are on the anvil. As he posted the video, parallelly, Mr. Wangchuk ended his hunger strike in the presence of his wife Gitanjali J. Angmo, Union Ministers J.P. Nadda and Jitendra Singh, and members of Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA). LAB and KDA are engaged in talks with the Home Ministry to seek constitutional safeguards for Ladakh, which became a Union Territory in 2019.
Cherring Dorjay Lakruk, co-convenor, LAB, who was present at the hospital, told The Hindu, “Although we travelled from Ladakh on July 21 to meet Mr. Wangchuk, the authorities never allowed us to see him. We were made to wait for hours. On Thursday, we were woken up around 11 p.m. by a call from Mr. Wangchuk, who asked us to come to Medanta. He said that Ministers were about to arrive and that he wanted members of the LAB and the KDA to be present.”
He said that Mr. Wangchuk ended his fast around 12.30 a.m. on Friday and the Ministers reached 15 minutes after them.
“Mr. Wangchuk told us that he would like to focus on Ladakh-related work from now on and would go to Kargil first and Leh later. We are avoiding any political activity in Leh as the Dalai Lama is staying here,” Mr. Lakruk said. He said that Mr. Wangchuk ensured a written assurance, signed by both the Ministers and himself, before ending his fast. “The document said that government will withdraw all police cases against students and protesters, if they are not of violent nature,” he said.
Mr. Wangchuk posted a video message saying the government also gave assurance that families of suicide victims in the recent NEET examination paper leak will be given adequate compensation and that there will be no cases registered against students and youths who protested peacefully.
Published – July 24, 2026 10:49 pm IST
