New Delhi: The health of several protesters who have joined the hunger strike led by climate activist Sonam Wangchuk at Jantar Mantar has deteriorated, organisers said on Tuesday.
According to the All India Students' Association (AISA), three student activists have been hospitalised since the indefinite hunger strike began on June 28, while several others continue to fast on water and salt.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)'s protest against alleged irregularities in examinations completed 25 days of agitation at the Jantar Mantar. Wangchuk's fast entered the 17th day on Tuesday.
Neha, AISA's national president and a PhD scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), had lost 5.85 kg during the fast and her blood sugar level had fallen to 70 mg/dl, the organisation claimed.
It also alleged that Manish, AISA's Uttar Pradesh president and a PhD scholar at Allahabad University, had lost 8.2 kg and recorded a blood sugar level of 68 mg/dl, while Aameen, a PhD scholar at Dr B R Ambedkar University, Delhi, had lost 8.3 kg and his blood sugar level had dropped to 54 mg/dl.
The student outfit said JNUSU joint secretary Danish, JNU's Barak Hostel president Hrishikesh and Delhi University student leader Deepak have been admitted to hospital after their health deteriorated during the protest.
The protesters are demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged examination irregularities, the rollback of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the scrapping of the National Testing Agency (NTA)
In a statement, Neha urged people to join the proposed march to Parliament on July 20, saying the protest sought accountability for what she described as the "rot in the education system".
Several political parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party and Shiv Sena (UBT), have offered support to the protest at Jantar Mantar.
The CJP has said it has reached out to leaders across party lines, including J P Nadda and Rahul Gandhi, inviting them to Jantar Mantar to stand in solidarity with the youth protesting against alleged paper leaks.
On Monday, a group of more than 1,800 artistes, academics, writers and social activists issued an open letter expressing solidarity with the protesters' demands while urging them to withdraw the indefinite hunger strike in view of their worsening health.
The signatories, including actors Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah, writer Arundhati Roy, economist Jean Dreze, academic Jayati Ghosh, scholar Nivedita Menon and academic Anuradha Chenoy, said they fully supported the demand for Pradhan's resignation but appealed to the protesters to preserve their strength for a "longer and more difficult struggle" ahead.
The letter also called upon people in Delhi to participate in the march to Parliament announced by the CJP on July 20, the first day of the Monsoon session.
This report was published from a wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.
