Two days before the Monsoon Session of Parliament, the BJP-led Centre on Saturday took the politically sensitive decision to remove activist Sonam Wangchuk from the Jantar Mantar protest site, where he had been on a hunger strike for the past 20 days.
The 59-year-old activist was protesting in support of the online satirical movement, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which is seeking educational reforms. The group had announced a march to Parliament on July 20, coinciding with the start of the Monsoon Session.
Government sources said Wangchuk’s removal was “strictly a humanitarian and legal intervention” aimed at protecting his life. They said the operation was planned and executed by the Delhi Police in coordination with health authorities and was in compliance with recent Delhi High Court directions requiring authorities to monitor Wangchuk’s health and ensure timely medical intervention, if necessary.
BJP leader Amit Malviya said Wangchuk’s medical examination was conducted with his own consent.
“Would the Opposition have preferred that his condition worsen merely to sustain a political spectacle? Ensuring timely medical care in a situation like this is the responsible course of action, not a matter for manufactured controversy. The authorities have acted with empathy, balancing the Court’s directions with the imperative of protecting life,” he said
Sceptics, however, pointed out that the Delhi Police functions under the Union Home Ministry, headed by Amit Shah.
Just hours before he was removed, Wangchuk posted a video message on X titled, “Smaller Movements have brought down many governments in India… & Here it’s about Education.”
The early morning operation, the first major one overseen by Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar after assuming office, drew sharp criticism from Opposition parties and activists, who described it as an authoritarian crackdown on peaceful dissent. But according to the government sources, “the police exercised maximum restraint to ensure Wangchuk’s safe transfer to hospital and subsequently requested the remaining demonstrators to vacate Jantar Mantar peacefully.”
In reality, the government was facing a classic Catch-22 situation.
On one hand was Wangchuk, who enjoys significant public goodwill as an education reformer known for his Gandhian and non-violent methods, especially among Gen Z. Any coercive action against a fasting activist of his stature carried the risk of political backlash and of strengthening the youth-led CJP campaign over alleged examination irregularities.
On the other hand, security agencies viewed the proposed march to Parliament during the Monsoon Session as a significant law-and-order challenge.
Police sources said officers closely monitored the organisers’ movements and acted at dawn when CJP founder Abhijit Dipke was away, enabling them to remove Wangchuk with minimal resistance and avoid a larger confrontation at the protest site.
The operation immediately became a political flashpoint. Leaders from the AAP, Congress and Shiv Sena accused the Centre of suppressing peaceful dissent, arguing that removing a frail activist who had publicly opposed hospitalisation reflected intolerance towards non-violent protests.
Soon after Wangchuk’s removal, Dipke announced his own indefinite hunger strike and reaffirmed plans for the proposed march to Parliament, signalling that the agitation would continue despite the police action.