LIVE: Wangchuk refuses IV fluids; Rahul says core tenets of Modi govt ‘Asatya and Hinsa’

Police have stepped up round-the-clock surveillance, vehicle checks and additional personnel are being deployed ahead of the Cockroach Janta Party’s Parliament march on Monday.

Police have reportedly converted key entry points into the New Delhi district into high-security zones, with elaborate barricading, intensive checking of vehicles and enhanced pickets to prevent any breach of law and order.

The proposed ‘Chalo Sansad’ march has been planned on the first day of the Monsoon session of Parliament on July 20. The CJP has reportedly not sought permission for the proposed Parliament march so far.

A PTI source in the police said, “Even if the organisers apply for permission, it is unlikely to be granted because the Monsoon session of Parliament will be underway and security protocols around Parliament will be at their highest level.”

Security deployment has reportedly been strengthened around Jantar Mantar, Parliament Street, Central Vista, Shankar Chowk, Connaught Place and other sensitive locations, while additional reserve forces have also been kept on standby.

According to police, the security arrangements are purely preventive and aimed at maintaining law and order during the Parliament session and any protest-related activities in the national capital.

Activist Anna Hazare on Saturday 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,” Hazare said in a video message.

Wangchuk has been demanding resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak scandal.

Notably, Hazare’s hunger strike in Delhi for the Lokpal Act had rocked the UPA government in 2011.

The BJP on Saturday justified the hospitalisation of activist Sonam Wangchuk, saying it was done in compliance with a Delhi High Court direction that his health be monitored.

The ruling party also hit out at opposition parties, asking whether they would have preferred his health to deteriorate merely to sustain a “political spectacle”.

BJP national spokesperson and former Union minister Shahnawaz Hussain told PTI Videos that the high court had directed that Wangchuk's health be properly monitored.

“He has been admitted to the hospital for a medical examination to monitor his health and ensure that he remains healthy. That is the only reason,” Hussain said.

BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said the authorities acted with empathy, balancing the court’s directions with the imperative of protecting life.

“Sonam Wangchuk’s preliminary medical report is now in the public domain. Importantly, it records that the medical examination was conducted with his own consent,” Malviya claimed in a post on X while sharing a purported medical report.

“So what exactly is the outrage about? Following the Delhi High Court's directions, the authorities shifted him to a hospital to facilitate his recovery after his health deteriorated during the fast,” he said.

Targeting the opposition, Malviya asked, “Would the opposition have preferred that his condition worsen merely to sustain a political spectacle? Ensuring timely medical care in a situation like this is the responsible course of action, not a matter for manufactured controversy.”

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the “removal” of activist Sonam Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar while he was on a non-violent hunger strike was “wrong” and alleged that the core tenets of the government are “Asatya and Hinsa (falsehood and violence)”.

The party criticised the police action at Jantar Mantar, following which Wangchuk was shifted, describing it as a “blot” on the country’s democracy and the Constitution.

Paper leaks, the rising cost of education, and student suicides are critical issues for India's future, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said. No amount of force can deter India's students, and those of us who love and believe in them, from raising these issues, he said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has condemned the Union government for removing Sonam Wangchuk from the Jantar Mantar protest site.

“The government does not value the life of citizens,” Thackeray said while urging the Centre to talk to the protesting youth.

Speaking to reporters at the Nagpur airport, Thackeray said, “It is shameful how Wangchuk was removed from Jantar Mantar. Wangchuk is on the verge of sacrificing is life and several youths are on hunger strike but the BJP government does not care about the lives of citizens or the youth.”

The government, which cannot conduct exams like NEET properly, must say how many youths have to sacrifice their lives before Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns, Thackeray said.

On the police citing medical advice and directions of the Delhi High Court to remove Wangchuk, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said police should show these orders.

Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday strongly condemned the police action against activist Sonam Wangchuk and Cockroach Janata Party founder Abhijit Dipke, accusing the Centre of "suppressing" democratic protests.

In a statement, Vijayan said the Centre was duty-bound to answer for the alleged lapses and corruption in the functioning of the National Testing Agency, which, he claimed, had put the future of lakhs of students at risk.

He alleged that instead of holding the Union Education Minister (Dharmendra Pradhan) accountable for allowing question paper mafias to flourish, the Narendra Modi-led government was “using the police to silence those seeking justice and exposing irregularities”.

Strongly condemning the detention of Wangchuk, Vijayan said the Centre and the Delhi Police were “undermining” citizens’ constitutional right to dissent and protest.

He described the police action against what he termed a peaceful and democratic agitation as “highly undemocratic”, and criticised the government for refusing to engage in dialogue with the protesters.

Vijayan demanded the unconditional release of Wangchuk, students and other social activists allegedly detained during the protest, and called upon all those who believe in democracy to raise their voice against what he described as “authoritarianism”.

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke’s father has expressed concern over his son sitting on an indefinite fast at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, and asked how the government could be so “merciless” to the students who are Indian nationals, and not Pakistanis.

Claiming that students are on indefinite hunger strikes in various parts of the country, Bhagwan Dipke asked whether the government is waiting for someone to die. He accused the government of not listening to demands raised by students and threatened to join his son's indefinite fast.

Speaking to a Marathi news channel in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Bhagwan Dipke expressed concern over his son's hunger strike.

“As a father, I am concerned about Abhijeet. I pray that God should give wisdom to Narendra Modi, who is sitting on the throne, so that better sense prevails and the government listens to the agitating students…

“Is the government waiting for someone to die? How many people should die for them? He has no mercy. If he is a human being, he should listen to the students,” Bhagwan Dipke said while targeting the prime minister.

“Are these (agitating) students from Pakistan or any other country? They are Indians. This person should not behave so mercilessly. I don't have any relatives or anyone from my community who has appeared for the NEET exam now,” Bhagwan Dipke added.

His wife said, “This agitation in Delhi was going on peacefully. Abhijeet has begun an indefinite fast after Sonam Wangchuk was taken to the hospital. We are concerned about him. We last spoke to him (Abhijeet) over the phone three days ago.”

She said only the government knows why this agitation is not being taken seriously.

Haryana Congress president Rao Narendra Singh on Saturday condemned the “forcible removal” of activist Sonam Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar, calling it a direct attack on democracy and the Constitution.

In a statement, Rao said every citizen has the constitutional right to express their views peacefully and that suppressing a peaceful protest by force was against democratic values. “Repeated paper leaks and the absence of strict action against those responsible had undermined the confidence of students who spend years preparing for competitive examinations,” Rao added.

The Haryana Congress chief said it was the government's responsibility to ensure a fair, transparent and credible examination system.

Rao was quick to add that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had consistently raised issues concerning students and youth and demanded accountability from Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. He said the party wanted the minister to resign to restore public confidence in the examination system.