Sonam Wangchuk hunger strike: Why Congress keeps its distance as INDIA bloc allies back CJP protest

Educator and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk's hunger strike at Jantar Mantar entered its 18th day on Wednesday, 15 July even as his health is deterioriating.

Wangchuk and the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) have been demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in the NEET (UG) 2026 exam and other exams.

“The man who chose to put his own life on the line to seek justice for students who died by suicide has received nothing but silence from the govt. The govt is not just unaccountable; it is also cruel,” Dipke said in a post on Wednesday

As things stand, several opposition leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, Uddhav Thackeray and Mamata Banerjee, have extended their support to Wangchuk, with most urging him to end his fast. Many leaders from the Left parties, AAP, Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party have so far visited the protest site. The hunger strike has entered its 17th day, with three students from CPIML-Liberation’s AISA having been admitted to the hospital.

Questions raised on Congress stand

However, the Congress, the country's principal opposition party, has so far kept its distance from the protest, prompting many on social media to question its stance.

Barring Congress MP Balwant Wankhede's one visit, the party has mostly kept away from the CJP agitation and instead focused on a series of public events called Chhatron ki Goonj, launched by Rahul last month.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also mentioned CJP and Abhijeet Dipke in recent comments, though but has not spoken on Wangchuk yet.

Congress allies in INDIA bloc have dropped loud hints for the Congress and Rahul Gandhi to stand in solidarity with CJP and Sonam Wangchuk demanding the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over exam lapses. On Monday, former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray told reporters in Mumbai: “I will also go (to the CJP stir). Rahul Gandhiji should also go. All those who have faith in the country’s youth should go.”

At the INDIA bloc meeting in New Delhi on 8 June, the CJP found mention with leaders expressing divergent views on its significance and intent, news agency PTI said quoting sources. The issue was not part of the formal agenda but was referred to by several leaders in their presentations, the report said.

Some reports suggested that a sizeable section of the party suspects that the Aam Aadmi Party continues to exert influence over the CJP, reflecting the longstanding tensions between the two parties that date back to the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement led by Kejriwal and Anna Hazare during the UPA-II era. Dipke, the CJP founder handled AAP’s social media many years ago.

Several Congress leaders were even more outspoken in their criticism. Srivatsa, a member of Rahul Gandhi's core team, dismissed the gathering as a "flop" and "performative".

"Kejriwal today again proved that he is better at mobilising journalists and YouTubers than people. There are twice as many media personnel at Jantar Mantar as there are 'protesters' at this flop protest," he wrote on X.

On Wednesday, Srivatsa reposted a March 2023 post of Sonam Wangchuk praising Dharmendra Pradhan. The post had a photo of Pradhan meeting Wangchuk and his wife Gitanjali J Angmo.

Wangchuk, when asked if he expected top Opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi or Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav to visit him, said “people from all parties will come”.

“If they don't (come), it would be a sign of great pettiness on their part, and the public will reject them, saying that you are being ‘possessive’ about issues,” Wanghcuk, who spent six months in jail recently over his protests for Ladakh's statehood demand, told Indian Express Hindi in a recent interview.

He added, “Different people have different timings. They will definitely come. If they don't come, that too will be a message, and it won't be good for any party.”

On Tuesday, responding to the barrage of criticism on social media, Gujarat Congress working president Jignesh Mevani posted on X saying Congress stood with Wangchuk.

Why isn’t Congress doing anything on its own?

“When someone like Wangchukji, known for real educational innovation, goes on hunger strike against irregularities destroying futures of lakhs of children and parents, it demands attention. His deteriorating health is worrying for all of us who care about justice. Congress stands with him and every citizen fighting these issues,” Mevani said.

“It’s not accurate to say Congress ignored this. Not even once has Congress or any leader from our party blamed these youths or Sonam Wangchukji, or questioned why they are not supporting NSUI and IYC protests. Instead, we have been fighting alongside on the same issues.”

Mevani was responding to singer Swanand Kirkire's criticism of Congress.

"Why isn’t Congress doing anything on its own? If everything is a conspiracy against Congress, what’s stopping it from sitting on a hunger strike?" Kirkire had said. The people protesting seem to be fighting for a legitimate cause and are not demanding something abstract like the Jan Lokpal, the singer said.

"Agreed that the Anna movement was a politically motivated campaign against Congress, but this movement, at least on the face of it, is directed against the BJP. Educate me if I am wrong," Kirkire wrote.