On the eve of Parliament’s monsoon session, opposition parties facing internal divisions and defections came together on Saturday to criticize the BJP government for relocating activist Sonam Wangchuk from his Jantar Mantar protest site to Safdarjung Hospital. The move signals that the matter will likely be raised when the House reconvenes on Monday.
Wangchuk has been on hunger strike since June 28 as part of a protest by the Cockroach Janata Party, calling for changes to the examination system and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan amid repeated paper leaks.
The session holds importance as the opposition has faced setbacks after jointly defeating a Constitution amendment bill on parliamentary seats in April. Since then, 37 MPs from four anti-BJP parties have switched to the ruling side, marking the largest such shift since the anti-defection law of 1985. A Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP resigned earlier this week.
The DMK has remained uncertain on key bills it opposed three months ago. With the government set to reintroduce the Constitution amendment bill for women’s reservation and the Delimitation Bill, opposition parties hope the Wangchuk issue can unite them initially.
It remains unclear if the issue alone can sustain unity, especially with Wangchuk now in hospital and replaced at the site by CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke.
The Congress had shown limited engagement with the protest, as Rahul Gandhi had already addressed similar concerns in Kota and Dehradun. Following Sonia Gandhi’s intervention referencing Indira Gandhi’s 1984 actions, the party issued statements of support. AICC general secretary K C Venugopal released a statement, and Rajya Sabha MP Pawan Khera visited the site.
Rahul Gandhi later commented that the government’s actions reflect Asatya and Hinsa, calling the removal wrong and highlighting issues like paper leaks and education costs.
Leaders from AAP, Shiv Sena (UBT), Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, and the Left described the relocation as an assault on democracy. NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar called the handling irresponsible. Sources indicate the opposition may raise the matter at Sunday’s all-party meeting.
