Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke ended his hunger strike on Monday morning following a request from climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who remains admitted to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi.
Dipke broke his fast by drinking juice after Wangchuk’s wife, educator Gitanjali Angmo, announced from the Jantar Mantar protest stage that Wangchuk had urged him to end the hunger strike and conserve his strength to continue leading the movement.
Soon after ending his fast, Dipke and Angmo joined the CJP’s protest march towards Parliament. They were accompanied by the father of Riya Kumari, a NEET aspirant who allegedly died by suicide.
Standing atop a slow-moving vehicle leading the procession, Dipke addressed thousands of supporters marching alongside and raised the slogan, “Dharmendra Pradhan must resign.”
Meanwhile, CJP leader Saurav Das announced that the Union government had reached out to the organisation for talks.
In a post on X, Das said, “It’s 11:52 AM. Ashutosh Ranka and I, on behalf of the Cockroach Janta Party, are on our way to meet J.P. Nadda. The government had reached out for talks in the morning. Our demands are clear. The youth has gathered in huge numbers.”
As Das and Ranka proceeded for the meeting, the march towards Parliament was temporarily paused.
Dipke had begun his hunger strike on Saturday after Delhi Police shifted Wangchuk from the Jantar Mantar protest site to Safdarjung Hospital, citing his deteriorating health and directions issued by the Delhi High Court.
Wangchuk has been on an indefinite hunger strike for 21 days as part of the CJP’s agitation demanding accountability over alleged question paper leaks and irregularities in competitive examinations, including NEET-UG.
The protesters are also seeking the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and broader reforms to ensure transparency and integrity in the country’s examination system.
The development marks the first indication of possible dialogue between the Centre and the protesters after weeks of agitation at Jantar Mantar.
