What is the story about?
The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) on Wednesday announced a one-day mass hunger strike on July 16 in solidarity with activist Sonam Wangchuk, who continues
his indefinite fast at Delhi's Jantar Mantar despite concerns over his deteriorating health. "Tomorrow, July 16, join us for a one-day mass hunger strike in solidarity with Sonam Wangchuk and the students of this country," the CJP said in a post on X. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke also changed his profile picture on X to an image of Wangchuk and urged supporters to do the same. "To support Sonam Wangchuk change your display picture," Dipke appealed in a post on the social media platform.
The Cockroach Janta Party has been holding a protest at Jantar Mantar demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination. Wangchuk joined the agitation on June 28 and has been on an indefinite fast since then. The organisation has also announced a march to Parliament on July 20.
As Wangchuk's health continued to deteriorate, several leaders like Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, among others, requested the activist to end his fast.
Veteran actor Zeenat Aman also appealed to the government to open a dialogue with Wangchuk, saying India should not "sit back and watch one of its greatest minds be sacrificed".
Another member from the cinema world, '3 Idiots' actor Omi Vaidya (who essayed the role of Chatur "Silencer" Ramalingam) urged people to pay attention to the deteriorating health of Wangchuk, saying he does not want the activist to die.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke has said Wangchuk has been losing muscle mass and is in "immense pain", adding the activist has lost 8.5 kg since the beginning of his fast.
While hearing a public interest litigation raising concern over the health of activist Sonam Wangchuk on Wednesday, the Delhi High Court said it will hear on Thursday.
A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia on Wednesday deferred hearing on the PIL after noting that none appeared for the authorities amid the ongoing work abstention called by the high court's bar association."Having regard to urgency, list tomorrow," the bench said.
The court ordered that a copy of the order be served to the Additional Solicitor General concerned and the Delhi government counsel.
Petitioner Rakesh Kumar Saini said the situation was "sad" and "most unfortunate" as a protesting citizen was "virtually taking his life in front of the whole nation;" and sought direction to the authorities to come to Wangchuk's aid and "discuss the issue" with him and force-feed him.
