NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janata Party founder Abhijeet Dipke on Saturday said that Sonam Wangchuk, who has been on a hunger strike for the past six days demanding the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, has lost more than 5 kilograms of body weight.In a video, Dipke said Wangchuk had undergone a medical check-up, which revealed that his blood pressure and blood sugar levels continued to drop.“I request the government to please take action against Dharmendra Pradhan. Sonam Sir has said that he will continue his hunger strike until the government takes action against Dharmendra Pradhan,” he added.In the video, Dipke also urged people to come to Jantar Mantar and stand in solidarity with Wangchuk.“I also have a request for everyone watching this video. Please come to Jantar Mantar. Even if we cannot do much, we can at least stand in solidarity with Sonam Sir. He is risking his life for the students, and the least we can do is support him by being there with him at Jantar Mantar,” Dipke said.The protest entered its 14th day after receiving support over the last week from several political leaders and civil society members, including CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby, senior CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, CPI general secretary D Raja, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, social activist Yogendra Yadav, Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan, CPI leader Annie Raja, transparency activist Anjali Bhardwaj, RTI activist Nikhil Dey and TMC MP Sagarika Ghose.The CJP protest began on June 20 over alleged irregularities in the examination system, including NEET. The protesters continue to demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.Dipke has said the agitation would also raise other accountability-related issues, including electoral matters such as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.Six students associated with the Left-affiliated All India Students’ Association (AISA) also continued their indefinite hunger strike from a separate stage at the protest site.
