Sonam Wangchuk Ends 26-Day Fast After Centre's Written Assurances, CJP Vows Fight Isn't Over
Sonam Wangchuk broke his 26-day fast just after midnight at Medanta Hospital, before Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh, after the Centre put its assurances in writing: no action against students who protested on July 20, a parliamentary debate on reforms, compensation consideration for suicide victims' families. He'd extended the fast two days while terms were finalised, and called ending it the "beginning of accountability," after 65 MPs across parties visited or wrote to him. Modi hoped on X he'd "regain his weight." One man stood down; 17 Metro stations, on day three of closures, did not.
The Centre answered differently: a midnight video promising Friday's Cabinet will weigh a tougher anti-paper-leak bill alongside fast-track courts. CJP's Ashutosh Ranka needed one line back: "Modi ji, remove Dharmendra Pradhan tomorrow. That's the strictest action you can take." Founder Abhijeet Dipke posted a picture of a man locking a gate with no boundary walls. Rahul Gandhi called the video a "pathetic" insult to students' intelligence. The government had quietly moved higher-education secretary Vineet Joshi to panchayati raj, a reshuffle below the one resignation everyone's demanding, which CJP has told union ministers directly remains non-negotiable.
A CJP delegation meets government representatives at Constitution Club Friday, even as the party calls for nationwide protests the same day and rejects a separate talks offer, negotiating and marching at once. CJI Surya Kant, meanwhile, called media reports "reckless" for claiming he'd refused a hearing on police brutality, insisting only a "representation," not a petition, was filed, a technical correction that doesn't explain why the footage still wasn't watched.