Abhijeet Dipke appeals to Sonam Wangchuk to end his hunger strike: ‘Country needs him’
Cockroach Janata Party founder and activist Abhijeet Dipke has appealed to climate activist Sonam to end his hunger strike, stating that the ‘country needs him’ amidst concerns over his deteriorating health. Dipke wrote a post on social media platform X to make his appeal.
“We request Sonam Wangchuk, sir, to end his hunger strike. The country needs him, and his life is far too precious to be put at further risk. The peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar will continue until our demands are met,” he wrote in a caption to the video on X.
‘We will not step back until Pradhan resigns’: Dipke
The activist further raised concerns over Wangchuk’s health, appealing to him to end the strike and stated that the protest will continue until the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns. “Today is the 25th day of Sonam Sir’s hunger strike. 25 days without food, so there is a huge threat to his life. I don’t want anything to happen to Sonam Sir, so I request Sonam Sir to break his hunger strike. And we will continue this protest,” Dipke further said.
“This is my assurance that even if Sonam Sir breaks his hunger strike, we will continue our protest and will not step back until Dharmendra Pradhan resigns. And with this, I want to say that our protest will continue peacefully. I appeal to all our supporters to continue the protest peacefully,” he said.
“We will not do anything wrong that would defame our protest or our country. Our protest will follow the path of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and will continue peacefully. So I once again request Sonam Sir to break his hunger strike, and our protest will continue until Dharmendra Pradhan resigns,” he added.
Delhi HC to hear PIL on police’s action on Wangchuk
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court is scheduled to hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on Wednesday, seeking an independent investigation into Delhi police’s action on Wangchuk when the cops took him from the Jantar Mantar in the middle of his hunger strike against the alleged exam irregularities and in demand of the resignation of Pradhan.
The PIL has been filed by Delhi-based advocate Shakeel Abbas through Advocate Shakil Sheikh and Associates. The respondents include the Union of India, the Commissioner of Delhi Police, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi District), the Station House Officer of Parliament Street Police Station, the Chief Secretary of the Government of Delhi, and the Medical Superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital.
According to the petition, the matter relates to the alleged violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 19(1)(a), 19(1)(b), 19(1)(c), and 21 of the Constitution in connection with the alleged suppression of a peaceful, non-violent protest led by Sonam Wangchuk and other demonstrators. The petitioner has sought judicial intervention to ensure safeguards for the constitutional rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.
