Activist Sonam Wangchuk has said he will end his hunger strike if the government provides an assurance that no legal action will be taken against students and young protesters involved in demonstrations over alleged NEET paper leaks. Wangchuk said he would continue his fast indefinitely if such a commitment is not given by the authorities.

In a letter addressed to Union ministers J.P. Nadda and Jitendra Singh, Wangchuk requested an “unequivocal assurance” that protesters would not face punitive or retaliatory action for participating in the movement. He said the students were only demanding a fair and accountable education system and should not be punished for raising their concerns.

The 59-year-old activist has been on hunger strike since June 28 as part of protests led by the satirical political movement Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) against alleged irregularities related to the NEET examination. He was removed by police from the Jantar Mantar protest site after three weeks of fasting and later shifted to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram, where he has continued his fast.

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Wangchuk said he appreciated the visit by Union ministers Nadda and Singh, who met him at the hospital. According to Wangchuk, the ministers assured him that the government would consider compensation for families of NEET aspirants who died by suicide following the controversy and discuss the issue in Parliament to address concerns over accountability.

The activist also referred to the march towards Parliament on Monday, describing it as peaceful while alleging that protesters faced excessive use of force by police. He said around 65 parliamentarians had appealed to him to end his fast, and that he personally wished to return to his educational work, but he did not want to do so without securing protection for the young protesters.

Wangchuk said he would end his hunger strike if the government assured that no action would be taken against students involved in the movement, adding that such a step would show that the concerns of young Indians had been heard. He has previously campaigned for issues related to Ladakh’s statehood and was detained last year following protests in Leh that turned violent and resulted in four deaths.

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