New Delhi, July 17: A day after Congress General Secretary Organisation KC Venugopal appealed climate activist Sonam Wangchuk to end his fast, grand old party MP Pawan Khera on Friday met him at Jantar Mantar and accused the Centre of refusing to engage with demands for education reforms.
Khera also urged Wangchuk to end his indefinite hunger strike, citing concerns over his deteriorating health, as he has been on a fast demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged examination irregularities, including the NEET paper leak controversy.
After meeting Wangchuk and the protesters, Khera said peaceful protest was a constitutional right and that it was the responsibility of any democratic government to engage with citizens who resort to fasting to make their voices heard.
In a post on X, Khera said, “In a democracy, peaceful protest is a constitutional right. When citizens undertake a fast to be heard, the duty of the government is to listen — not look away. That is Raj Dharma.”
The Congress leader compared the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre response with that of previous governments, saying former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984 and the UPA government under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2011 had engaged with protesters despite differences.
“That is what Indira Gandhi Ji did in 1984. That is what Dr. Manmohan Singh’s government did in 2011. They understood that a government’s first responsibility is engagement, even in disagreement,” he said.
The Rajya Sabha MP targeting the government alleged that the present government had chosen “indifference” towards demands for education reforms raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) and the protesters at Jantar Mantar.
“This government, however, has chosen indifference. It has refused to engage with the demand for education reforms — whether raised by Shri Rahul Gandhi and the NSUI and IYC workers across the country or the protesters at Jantar Mantar. Such indifference is not merely arrogant; it is callous and wholly unworthy of a democracy,” he said.
Appealing to Wangchuk to call off his fast, Khera said preserving the movement’s leadership was more important than continuing the hunger strike.
“Today, on behalf of the Congress Party, I met Sonam Wangchuk and the protesters at Jantar Mantar, and urged them to end their fast in light of their deteriorating health. A movement is not strengthened by losing its people. We live to fight another day,” he said.
Even Congress Uttar Pradesh in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam also met with Wangchuk at Jantar Mantar and inquired about his health and urged him to end his fast.
On Thursday, Venugopal in a post on X appealed Wangchuk to call off his hunger strike.
He had said, “Sonam Wangchuk has now been on a hunger strike for 19 days, demanding the resignation of the Union Education Minister.
Venugopal had highlighted that how 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. In view of his health condition, we appeal to 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,” he had said.
Wangchuk, an engineer, education reformer and climate activist from Ladakh, has been on an indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over nationwide examination irregularities and the NEET paper leak controversy.
Many opposition leaders including NCP SP Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule, Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal had met Wangchuk.