Sonam Wangchuk hunger strike LIVE: PIL interpreted wrongly; Sonam’s health is fine, there was no need for Govt intervention, says Gitanjali

Jammu & Kashmir National Conference president Farooq Abdullah met activist Sonam Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo and said that he would join the march and the protest “when the time is right.”

Mr. Abdullah is in Delhi to lead the party’s planned statehood protest in Delhi on July 20. 

Mr. Abdullah tells the press that Jammu and Kashmir was “promised [Statehood] in Supreme Court and Parliament”

“I know the fear of agencies and others in the media. But when we freed India, we feared the British. But we had the conviction to kick them out. We stood up, gave our blood,” he says.

“What has happened to Gandhi’s India? Has it died? Gandhi is still here. If we die, we do so in this country and if we live, we live in this country,” Mr. Abdullah adds. 

– Aroon Deep

Ahead of the planned protest march on July 20, Sonam Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo says: “Sonam’s message to everyone is that even in his absence we must go with double the enthusiasm and four times the numbers.”

“The way he has been advocating people to demonstrate peacefully, I’ll tell everyone two things: march peacefully and watch out for nefarious disruptive elements. They will try to colour the protest. But over the last 22 days students have shown that Gen Z protests peacefully.”

– Aroon Deep

“If a man is fasting – and today is his 22nd day – he has fasted 35 days in Ladakh. His health is fine. There was no need for government intervention,” Gitanjali Angmo tells mediapersons as she speaks following a Delhi HC hearing which denied shifting her husband, activist Sonam Wangchuk, from Safdarjung Hospital. 

“The PIL was interpreted wrongly,” she says adding that they will be appealing tomorrow, “to rectify the errors in the order today.”

“We wanted to shift him to Medanta and other hospital. This is fundamental right,” Ms. Angmo says, pointing out that they were exercising their right of comfort and choice. “There’s a trust deficit in this country. People don’t trust govt institutions. The 10 hour wait for the sample shows that. We don’t want a hospital with 30-40 police, water cannons… Sonam has every day had blood pressure of ~110/70. At hospital it was 125/85 due to the police presence,” Ms. Angmo says.

“Sonam wanted that he wanted to continue the fast. They have been asking him to have fluids but he didn’t have. He’s having water,” she says in response to a question regarding the current status of the activist.

– Aroon Deep

“We know govt took him [Wangchuk] here [Safdarjung Hospital] because they were afraid that if he led a protest many people would come,” Gitanjali Angmo, activist Sonam Wangchuk’s wife told the media.

“But in his absence those numbers will double,” she added. 

“May everyone join the march. Education is the foundation for the country. If we want to be a vishwaguru especially,” Ms. Angmo said a day ahead of the planned July 20 protest march to the Parliament. 

“In no developed country do people get an education based on their economic status. The demographic dividend we had a decade back of 50% people below age of 25…if we leveraged that we would have a generation of leaders.”

– Aroon Deep

“If he were brought here for his health there would have been doctors there. But the way plainclothes police came, it doesn’t look like they were there to help,” Gitanjali Angmo said, addressing the media. 

“Is India truly democratic and free? We asked the judge, the way police is roaming the floor and taking all our belongings and his tablet,” she added, speaking after a Delhi HC hearing in which the Court denied the activist’s shifting to another facility from Safdarjung Hospital.

“He’s not in detention like he was in the Jodhpur jail. He should have free access. His doctors should meet him.”

Ms. Angmo went on to question if govt intervenes can’t they do so democratically with family’s trust?

“For 20 days when we were checking [Wangchuk’s health] every day, I got reports constantly. But since we got here we aren’t getting reports. The court has noted our demand that we get reports immediately. We want to go to a hospital where he gets all these things.”

– Aroon Deep

“We went to the HC with the petition that a free Indian citizen has the liberty to be treated where he wishes by doctors he’s comfortable with,” said Gitanjali Angmo, wife of activist Sonam Wangchuk who was forcibly hospitalised by Delhi Police a day earlier. 

Ms. Angmo was speaking following a hearing in the High Court pertaining to Mr. Wangchuk’s shifting from Safdarjung Hospital to a facility of his choosing.”

“The high court has not allowed it because they said they’re worried about his health.”

“His physician has no access. There’s obstruction everywhere. We asked for a sample to get a 2.9 potassium reading from a different test centre..if 2.9 is so life threatening, then they should have given us the sample far earlier,” she said. 

– Aroon Deep

Sonam Wangchuk will cooperate with doctors, if he so chooses, I am not directing, said the Delhi High Court Judge hearing a plea by Mr. Wangchuk’s wife on the transfer of the activist from the Safdarjung Hospital. 

ASG Sharma had urged Delhi HC to ask Mr. Wangchuk to cooperate with doctors at Safdarjung hospital. There is no reason for any doubt, Mr. Wangchuk being taken care of but he has to cooperat, Mr. Sharma had said.

The Court went on to refuse to grant transfer of activist Sonam Wangchuk from Safdarjung hospital to private facility.

– PTI

Maharashtra Congress MLA Nana Patole accused the government of showing a “dictatorial” attitude, a day after activist Sonam Wangchuk was forcibly taken to hospital by Delhi Police on the 21st day of his hunger strike, alleging that democracy was being undermined.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Patole also said the Congress will participate in a protest march against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the first day of Parliament’s monsoon session on Monday.

– PTI

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh moved a Suspension of Business notice in the Rajya Sabha under Rule 267 to discuss the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak, the erosion of the integrity of public examinations, police action against peaceful protesters and the deteriorating health of activist Sonam Wangchuk during the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament, scheduled to be held on Monday (July 20, 2026).

– ANI

Gitanjali Angmo, wife of activist Sonam Wangchuk, will hold a press conference at 4.30 p.m. in the evening today, speaking to the media on her husband’s health. 

Earlier in the day, Ms. Angmo had moved the Delhi High Court seeking to shift Mr. Wangchuk from the state-run Safdarjung Hospital to a private facility, citing a “lack of faith” in the former. 

– Aroon Deep

The Delhi High Court has agreed to urgently hear a plea by Sonam Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali J Angmo to shift activist from Safdarjung Hospital to a private facility. The Court will reportedly take up the matter at 2.30 p.m.

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– PTI

“Nothing is more dangerous than ‘ mere bholne se kya hoga’ [What can be achieved by my speaking up],” read a poster that summed up the Cockroach Janta Party’s protest at Freedom Park in Central Bengaluru, which saw the participation of over 1,000 people on Sunday (July 19, 2026).

Click below to read more on this:

Speaking to the media on activist Sonam Wangchuk’s health, Dr Charu Bamba, Medical Superintendent, Safdarjung Hospital said that Mr. Wangchuk continues to remain on fast, “therefore he is very weak and [this] also can lead to deviation and complications.”

“He continues to remain fully conscious, alert. His vital parameters like blood pressure, pulse rate, saturation remain normal. But there is a some minor deviation in his lab parameters because of which we are giving the required treatment at our hospital,” she added. 

Sonam Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali J. Angmo has cancelled a press interaction at Safdarjung Hospital due to “unforeseen circumstances”. 

-Aroon Deep

Former Delhi Education Minister and Aam Aadmi Party’s Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia will join the protest at Jantar Mantar at 3 p.m.

-PTI

Former Odisha CM and Biju Janata Dal President Naveen Patnaik on Sunday (July 19) called for the issue of paper leaks to be taken up in the Monsoon Session of the Parliament, set to begin on Monday. 

“A nation that compromises the integrity of its examination system, compromises its own future. This grave issue, affecting millions of students across the country, must be taken up in Parliament as the highest priority,” Mr. Patnaik said in a post on X.

He also urged the government to start a dialogue with students who are currently protesting and have undertaken a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.

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“The Prime Minister must resign,” reiterated the Cockroach Janta Party on Sunday (July 19, 2026) in a post on X.

The CJP made the demand first on Saturday after the Delhi Police forcefully shifted activist Sonam Wangchuk — who was on an indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar — to Safdarjung hospital citing his deteriorating health. 

CJP’s founder Abhijeet Dipke lashed out at the Delhi Police and the BJP led Centre for forcibly hospitalising Mr. Wangchuk. ‘Until now, we were demanding Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, but after this despicable act, we will now demand the resignation of Narendra Modi,” Mr. Dipke said.

Right as Sonam Wangchuk entered the 21st day of his fast, authorities whisked him away, covering his path from the stage at the Jantar Mantar protest site to the waiting ambulance with a wall of white curtains. Mr. Wangchuk tried to raise his hand beyond the curtains, and it appeared for a split second before he was ushered in and sped off.

Mr. Wangchuk, 59, has emerged as an unlikely symbol of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)’s weeks-long youth-led protests across the country, now centred in the heart of the capital. The mythology surrounding Mr. Wangchuk is ever evolving.

Click below to read more on this:

Sonam Wangchuk | Fast and composed

Sonam Wangchuk, a prominent educationist, leads a 21-day fast demanding the resignation of India’s Union Education Minister during protests in Delhi.

The three fasting students remain onsite after a massive number of protesters blocked off access to them after security forces started approaching, All India Students’ Association former president N. Sai Balaji said.

Earlier in the morning, Mr. Balaji had alleged that Delhi police was attempting to move the three AISA students — Neha, Ameen Amitoj, and Manish Kumar, all Ph.D. scholars from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD) and Allahabad University — from the protest site. 

– Aroon Deep

Activist Sonam Wangchuk on Sunday (July 19, 2026) described the proposed July 20 Parliament march as India’s “second freedom movement”, calling for “freedom from fear” and “freedom from injustice” while urging supporters to make the mobilisation a “big success”.

In a handwritten message shared from Safdarjung Hospital through his wife Gitanjali J Angmo, Mr. Wangchuk linked “freedom from injustice” to alleged paper leaks and “freedom from fear” to what he described as his “illegal detention”.

Raijor Dal chief and MLA Akhil Gogoi condemned the “forcible” hospitalisation of climate and social activist Sonam Wangchuk, terming it a violation of fundamental and constitutional rights.

He demanded Mr. Wangchuk’s immediate release and called for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

“The manner in which a person on a hunger strike was forcibly hospitalised, violating fundamental and constitutional rights, is deeply concerning. As a representative of the people of Assam and the North East, I demand that Sonam Wangchuk be released immediately,” Mr. Gogoi told ANI.

Congress leader Sachin Pilot accused the central government of avoiding dialogue and suppressing dissent after being on the back foot over rising public anger on issues related to the education system.

“The government is not ready to talk to Sonam Wangchuk ji nor accept his demands. When pressure is building from across the country on the issues for which he was on a hunger strike, the government appears rattled,” Mr. Pilot told reporters.

Instead of engaging in dialogue, he said, the government forcibly removed a person who was on a peaceful hunger strike.

-PTI

Activist Sonam Wangchuk is being given the “required medical intervention” at the Safdarjung Hospital and a team of experts is closely monitoring his condition as his blood parameters remain marginally altered due to the physiological stress and systemic effects of prolonged fasting, the hospital said on Sunday (July 19).

In a health bulletin, the hospital said, “Sonam Wangchuk is being given the required medical intervention at VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital. His vital parameters are stable at present; however, his blood parameters remain marginally altered, and considering the physiological stress and systemic effects of prolonged fasting, he requires continuous medical care under the close observation of a multidisciplinary team of experts”.

-PTI

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke appeals to people planning to attend the march to Parliament on Monday (July 20) to arrive at Jantar Mantar this evening and stay overnight. 

All India Students’ Association former president N. Sai Balaji alleges Delhi police are attempting to move the three AISA students — Neha, Ameen Amitoj, and Manish Kumar, all Ph.D. scholars from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD) and Allahabad University — on the 22nd day of their hunger strike at Jantar Mantar. 

-Aroon Deep

Sonam Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali J. Angmo announced on Sunday (July 19) she will approach the Delhi High Court to move the activist to a different hospital. 

“I have lost faith in Safdarjung Government Hospital,” Ms. Gitanjali said in a post on X.

“The hospital told us Wangchuk’s potassium had dropped to 2.9, describing it as alarming and life-threatening. Yet, in its public health bulletin, it conveniently omitted the actual number, referring only to “decreasing potassium levels.“ An independent laboratory test reported 3.5, well within the normal range,” she added. 

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Activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is currently in Safdarjung hospital after he was forcefully shifted there by the Delhi Police, appealed students on Sunday (July 19) to join what he called ‘India’s second freedom movement’ on July 20. 

The Cockroach Janta Party has planned a march to the Parliament on July 20 on the first day of the Monsoon Session to demand Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG exam paper. 

Mr. Wangchuk, in a post on X, called on students to make the march to the Parliament ‘a big success’. 

“India’s 2nd freedom movement. Freedom from injustice. Freedom from fear,” Mr. Wangchuk said. 

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Dalit Sangharsha Samiti (DSS) State convener D.G. Sagar on Saturday (July 18) accused the BJP-led Union government of failing to ensure transparency in the conduct of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged irregularities.

Addressing a press conference in Kalaburagi city, Mr. Sagar urged the Centre to remove Mr. Pradhan from the Union Cabinet, holding him responsible for the alleged lapses in the conduct of the examination.

Kalaburagi: Dalit Sangharsha Samiti seeks Union Education Minister’s resignation over NEET issue, urges Centre to hold talks with Sonam Wangchuk

Dalit Sangharsha Samiti demands Union Education Minister’s resignation over NEET issues and plans state-wide protests on July 23.

Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) National President Chirag Paswan alleged that several opposition parties were using activist Sonam Wangchuk as the face of their political campaign after “losing their political ground” and expressed concern over Mr. Wangchuk’s deteriorating health amid his ongoing hunger strike.

Speaking to ANI on the protest at Jantar Mantar, Mr. Paswan said, “It is unfortunate that several opposition parties, having lost their political ground, appear to be using Sonam Wangchuk as the face. One person has been left to continue a hunger strike while everyone is worried about his deteriorating health.”

-ANI

Administering IV fluids and initiating nutritional support are essential for the health of activist Sonam Wangchuk, a senior doctor at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital has said and noted that beyond a certain point, the situation can become critical for the patient.

Dr. Suranjit Chatterjee, Senior Consultant in Internal Medicine at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, said the issued report also indicates “compensated metabolic acidosis.”

-ANI

Security personnel deployed outside the premises of VMMC and Safdarjung hospital where climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was admitted after his health deteriorated on the 21st day of his indefinite hunger strike. 

Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief and Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad visited the protest site at Jantar Mantar. 

Activist Anna Hazare on Saturday (July 18, 2026) 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,” Mr. Hazare said in a video message.

Read Anna Hazare’s statement here

Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Sunday (July 19) addressed protesters at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, applauding Sonam Wangchuk for his hunger strike. 

“It is my second day of hunger strike; now I know how difficult it is. I salute Sonam Sir and the students here for their hunger strike. I am conserving energy for the march tomorrow,” Mr. Dipke said, referring to the Parliament march the CJP will undertake on Monday (July 20) on the first day of the Monsoon Session. 

Mr. Dipke sat on an indefinite hunger strike on Saturday (July 18) against Delhi Police’s action on Mr. Wangchuk, who was forcibly shifted to Safdarjung hospital on day 21 of his fast. 

Protests continued at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Sunday morning (July 19) against the police action on activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was whisked away on Saturday to Safdarjung hospital. 

Mr. Wangchuk was on an indefinite strike demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. Cockroach Janta Party’s founder Abhijeet Dipke, who also sat on an indefinite hunger strike on Saturday after Mr. Wangchuk was forcible moved to the hospital, posted a picture on X showing Jantar Mantar packed with students and supporters of the CJP.

The CPI(M) Tripura state committee will organise rallies across the state in solidarity with the Cockroadh Janata Party (CJP)’s proposed ‘Parliament March’ scheduled for July 20, a senior leader said on Saturday (July 18).

“We strongly condemn and express concern over the way Sonam Wangchuk was forcefully picked up by police personnel and got admitted to a Delhi hospital citing the Supreme Court’s order. It is a serious matter”, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state assembly, Jitendra Chaudhury, said at a press conference.

According to him, the CPI(M) will organise statewide rallies in solidarity with the CJP’s ‘Parliament March’ to make the people’s voice louder against the alleged misgovernance of the Narendra Modi government.

-PTI

Actor Sonakshi Sinha, singer Vishal Dadlani and actor Parvathy Thiruvothu have expressed their disappointment over the way educationist Sonam Wangchuk was shifted to a hospital from the protest spot where he has been on an indefinite hunger strike.

In an Instagram video, Ms. Sinha said, “The thing that happened with Sonam sir today wasn’t right. I am glad that he’s okay and that his wife is with him. He’s strong, he’s alert. In the last few days, I have been seeing him and the thousands standing with him.” The actor praised students for standing with Wangchuk and continuing with their non-violent protests.

-PTI

Left parties on Saturday (July 18, 2026) condemned the police action against activist Sonam Wangchuk and protesters at Jantar Mantar, and accused the Centre of suppressing democratic dissent instead of addressing the alleged irregularities in the NEET examination, while extending support to the continuing student-led agitation.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation said the protest would continue despite Mr. Wangchuk’s removal from the protest site, with three members of its student wing AISA — Neha, Manish and Aameen — continuing their indefinite hunger strike. The party also appealed to people to join the July 20 Parliament march.

Read the story here

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke on Saturday (July 18) lashed out at the Delhi Police and the BJP led Centre for forcibly hospitalising Sonam Wangchuk, who has been on a hunger strike in delhi for 21 days, demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.

‘Until now, we were demanding Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, but after this despicable act, we will now demand the resignation of Narendra Modi,” Mr. Dipke said.

Even as activist Sonam Wangchuk was taken to the hospital on Saturday morning (July 18, 2026) as he entered the 21st day of his hunger strike at a protest in Jantar Mantar, called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), at least 21 protesters, from across the country, continued their hunger strike despite deteriorating health conditions, asserting that Mr. Wangchuk’s removal from the site has only strengthened their resolve to continue until Dharmendra Pradhan resigns as the Union Education Minister.

Read the story here

‘Wangchuk not alone’: At least 21 continue indefinite hunger strike

At least 21 activists continue a hunger strike in solidarity with Sonam Wangchuk, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

The Cockroach Janta Party continued overnight protests on Sunday (July 19, 2026) at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar against the BJP government, demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.

CJP’s spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka posted a video on X of students gathered at Jantar Mantar singing Vande Mataram. 

FAIMA Doctors Association has written to the President of India Droupadi Murmu seeking urgent intervention on repeated NEET irregularities,accountability of the NTA & structural reforms in the examination system. 

The association has also requested transparent twice-daily medical bulletins on Sonam Wangchuk’s health following his hospitalisation.

Right as Sonam Wangchuk entered the 21st day of his fast, authorities whisked him away, covering his path from the stage at the Jantar Mantar protest site to the waiting ambulance with a wall of white curtains. Mr. Wangchuk tried to raise his hand beyond the curtains, and it appeared for a split second before he was ushered in and sped off.

Mr. Wangchuk, 59, has emerged as an unlikely symbol of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)’s weeks-long youth-led protests across the country, now centred in the heart of the capital. The mythology surrounding Mr. Wangchuk is ever evolving: from stories of how he concealed his family pedigree — his father Sonam Wangyal, a mountaineer and former MLA — to gain admission to an engineering college as an ordinary student, to becoming the face of climate demonstrations in ecologically sensitive Ladakh in 2023, and, last year, to championing the region’s demand for greater autonomy.

Here’s Sonam Wangchuk’s profile

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Saturday (July 18) said his colleague Dharmendra Pradhan need not resign over the NEET paper leak, claiming that action has been taken against those involved in the scam.

He also said Sonam Wangchuk should call of his hunger strike, assuring that steps will be taken by the government to ensure that paper leak does not happen again.

“There is no need for Dharmendra Pradhan to resign. NEET paper leak is not a good thing for us, but it is not as if no action has been taken in this regard,” Mr. Athawale told reporters on the sidelines of an event.

-PTI

Activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been on a 21-day hunger strike, is showing signs of dehydration and urgently requires fluid and electrolyte therapy to prevent potentially serious complications, even as he and his family declined the recommended treatment despite repeated counselling, Safdarjung Hospital authorities said on Saturday (July 18).

Mr. Wangchuk remains conscious and haemodynamically stable, with his pulse, blood pressure and oxygen saturation currently within normal limits, the hospital said in a statement issued around 9 p.m.

However, it said his prolonged fast has led to clinical signs of dehydration, making immediate oral or intravenous fluid and electrolyte therapy medically necessary.

-PTI