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New Delhi, Jul 16 (PTI) The Congress on Thursday appealed to activist Sonam Wangchuk to end his indefinite hunger strike and asserted that “his concerns are our concerns” and it will continue to demand the Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.

Congress general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal said, “Shri Sonam Wangchuk has now been on a hunger strike for 19 days, demanding the resignation of the Union Education Minister. The Indian National Congress has been making this very demand for over a month and a half.” “We share the anguish and outrage that Shri Wangchuk ji feels, especially due to the lack of accountability within the Modi Govt – for the collapse of the examination system in particular,” Venugopal said in a post on X.

“In view of his health condition, we appeal to Shri Wangchuk to end his fast. His concerns are our concerns and that of other Opposition parties as well. Rest assured, we will continue to confront the Modi government and demand the Education Minister’s resignation,” the Congress leader said.

Asked about Wangchuk’s fast at a press conference earlier, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said his party has been demanding Pradhan’s resignation for the last two months.

He said that many other people have also been demanding Pradhan’s resignation and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi demanded this on June 17 in Kota and will do so in Dehradun on Friday when he interacts with students.

Wangchuk’s weight loss crossed nine kilograms on the 19th day of his indefinite hunger strike on Thursday, with doctors warning that he had entered a critical stage and that the prolonged fast could begin affecting his organs.

In a video message released late Wednesday night, Wangchuk ruled out ending his fast despite appeals from political leaders and supporters, saying doing so without any response from the government would send the wrong message.

Instead, he urged people to strengthen the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) proposed Parliament march on July 20.

Support for the agitation continued to pour in, with farmer leader Rakesh Tikait announcing that he would visit Wangchuk at Jantar Mantar on Thursday evening. Music composer Vishal Dadlani, actor Sayaji Shinde and author Shobhaa De also appealed to the government to engage in dialogue with the activist and expressed concern over his deteriorating health.

Earlier in the day, the Delhi High Court directed authorities to monitor Wangchuk’s health on a daily basis and provide medical intervention whenever required, observing that “the life of any citizen is precious”. The Centre and the Delhi government told the court they had no objection to regular medical monitoring.

The Cockroach Janta Party has been protesting at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Pradhan over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination and has called for a Parliament march on July 20, the first day of the Monsoon session. PTI

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)