India’s youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has vowed to press ahead with a planned march to parliament after activist Sonam Wangchuk was forcibly taken to hospital during his hunger strike on Saturday.
Mr Wangchuk, a 59-year-old engineer, education reformer and climate activist from Ladakh, joined the protest on 28 June. He had been on an indefinite hunger strike for 21 days when Delhi Police removed him from Jantar Mantar, the capital’s designated protest site, early on Saturday and admitted him to the state-run Safdarjung Hospital.
Police said the decision was taken on medical advice and in line with an earlier Delhi high court order directing authorities to monitor Wangchuk’s health and intervene if necessary.
Doctors said the 59-year-old was “weak due to prolonged fasting and dehydration” and, although his vital signs remained stable, “requires continuous observation, monitoring and treatment to restore his body parameters”.
But Mr Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali J Angmo has now approached the Delhi High Court seeking permission to move him to a private hospital. In a post on X, she said there were “around 30 police personnel” on their hospital floor and “well over 100 across the hospital”, adding that the family’s movement was “severely restricted”.
Scene at Jantar Mantar today pic.twitter.com/SHTsMlDW3o
— sonal 🫨 (@SonalHayat) July 19, 2026
“It is not medical care. It is illegal detention,” she wrote.
The CJP has dubbed the police’s removal of Mr Wangchuk from the protest site a “kidnapping”, and the numbers of people attending the demonstration at Jantar Mantar swelled on Sunday, with long queues to enter the site.
Three student activists – Neha Bora, Aameen and Manish, all members of the All India Students' Association (AISA) – continued their indefinite hunger strike after Mr Wangchuk was removed. N Sai Balaji, AISA's former president, said the trio would remain at Jantar Mantar despite the police action.
The protest movement, which emerged over alleged exam leaks that affected around 2.3 million would-be medical students, is demanding the resignation of India’s education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, along with wider reforms to the country’s examination system and compensation for families of students who died by suicide following the exam controversy.
Protesters accused the authorities of hospitalising Mr Wangchuk to blunt momentum ahead of the CJP’s planned “Sansad Chalo” (march to parliament) on Monday, the opening day of parliament’s monsoon session.
After Mr Wangchuk was taken away, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke announced he was beginning his own indefinite hunger strike.
“The resolve and the movement will only get stronger from here,” he told the Associated Press, adding that Monday’s march would go ahead as planned.
Message from Sonam :
— Sonam Wangchuk (@Wangchuk66) July 19, 2026
20th JULY
आज़ादी का दूसरा आन्दोलन
भय मुक्त भारत, अन्याय मुक्त भारत
Freedom from injustice (Like paper leaks)
Freedom from Fear (my illegal detention)
India’s 2nd FREEDOM MOVEMENT
March to the Parliament
Please make it a big success
Sent through… pic.twitter.com/XYeUXgUxJH
Mr Wangchuk released his own statements on Sunday via his wife and his lawyer Kapil Sibal, who told the court he “want[s] treatment, but [the] treatment of my choice”.
Via a handwritten message delivered to his wife from hospital, he described Monday’s planned mobilisation as “India’s second freedom movement”.
“Freedom from injustice (like paper leaks). Freedom from fear (my illegal detention). March to the Parliament. Please make it a big success,” he wrote.
Delhi Police have tightened security across central Delhi ahead of Monday’s planned march, erecting additional barricades around parliament, Jantar Mantar, and the Central Vista, the administrative heart of the capital, while increasing vehicle checks and surveillance.
More than 100 police personnel and Rapid Action Force units have been deployed on either side of the Jantar Mantar protest site and inside the venue, according to the Hindustan Times.
On Sunday, CJP alleged that tear gas guns had been brought to the area and accused Delhi Police of preparing to disrupt the protest.
A senior police officer told the Press Trust of India that “every vehicle entering the New Delhi district will be subjected to thorough checking”, adding that authorities would not allow any unauthorised march towards Parliament.
Police sources told ANI that the CJP had not sought permission for the demonstration and that, even if an application were made, it was unlikely to be approved because Parliament’s monsoon session would be underway.
CJP spokesperson Vaishnavi Gaur disputed that account and told the Hindustan Times that the group had informed police of its plans “way back”.
“They know very well about the march and our plans. In any case, they won’t allow us,” she said.
The group has urged its supporters to ensure that the protest and march remain peaceful. In a post on X, Mr Dipke wrote: “Anyone who creates any kind of disruption or raises negative slogans cannot be a supporter of Sonam Sir or CJP.”
In a post on X on Saturday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Narendra Modi's government of suppressing peaceful dissent, saying the administration was built on the principles of “Asatya” (falsehood) and “Hinsa” (violence). “To forcibly remove Sonam Wangchuk while he is observing a peaceful hunger strike is wrong,” Gandhi wrote.
The core tenets of the Modi government are Asatya and Hinsa.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 18, 2026
The removal of Sonam Wangchuk ji from Jantar Mantar while he was on a non-violent hunger strike is wrong.
Paper leaks, the rising cost of education, and student suicides are critical issues for India’s future.
No…
Yogendra Yadav, the founder of the political party Swaraj India which has joined the demonstrations, said: “The government thought that by picking up Wangchuk ji, the protest would fizzle out but technically, andolan ki hawa nahi nikli, sarkar ki hawa nikal gayi (The protest hasn’t run out of steam, the government has),” he said, adding that the planned march remained “fixed”.
Despite the movement’s growing support, prime minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has not publicly responded to the protesters’ core demands for Mr Pradhan's resignation or indicated that it is willing to hold talks with CJP leaders.
