- The government calls on protesters to join the talks.
- Delhi closes 16 metro stations and blocks the Internet.
- Modi proposes judicial plan for exam leaks.
NEW DELHI: Indian activist Sonam Wangchuk ended a 26-day hunger strike on Friday over leaked medical school entrance exam papers that protesters say allowed cheating, but demonstrations demanding the education minister’s resignation would continue in the biggest youth-led challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
The young protesters, led by the movement calling itself the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), demand that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resign over the leaks that affected some 2 million students in May and are linked to several student suicides.
Wangchuk said on He did not elaborate on the talks, but promised to lay out the details in a video soon.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke thanked Wangchuk, 59, for his “courage and sacrifice” and said protests would continue until Pradhan resigned. “We will not let Mr. Sonam’s sacrifice be in vain,” he added in a video message.
Late on Tuesday, Pradhan, in his first comments since calls for his resignation, said the government was committed to addressing concerns and reforming the exams.
The protests represent the biggest youth challenge to Modi since he came to power in 2014. Opposition parties have echoed the youth movement’s demands and disrupted the monsoon session of parliament that began this week.
After Wangchuk ended his hunger strike, Modi urged the activist to follow doctors’ advice and “regain the weight lost” during his fast.
Protesters have called for nationwide demonstrations on Friday in solidarity with students who denounced police brutality during a march of tens of thousands of people to parliament on Monday, even as Modi’s government urged them to join talks.
Thousands of people had returned to the Jantar Mantar protest site on Thursday afternoon, carrying anti-government signs and chanting slogans amid heavy security deployment. The protests have closed metro stations and mobile internet services and restricted businesses in central Delhi.
The protests have also spread to other cities, including Ranchi, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram and Kolkata, local media reported.
Restrictions imposed in the central business district
Delhi authorities closed 16 metro stations on Thursday in and around central areas of Delhi where protesters remained camped, inconveniencing thousands of commuters.
The government also ordered telecommunications companies to block mobile Internet services in the area, sources told Reuters, a move that not only affected protesters but also prevented shops and restaurants from receiving digital payments over the phone.
Separately, the New Delhi Traders Association called for early closure of all offices and businesses in the Connaught Place area, the bustling central business district, on Thursday, citing an advisory from municipal authorities due to the security situation in the area.
Human rights groups see the measures as an attempt by authorities to curb protests and prevent any new outbreak of violence.
More than 10,000 people gathered at the Jantar Mantar protest site on Wednesday night. Some protesters attacked police with stones and plastic bottles, injuring some officers, news agency ANI quoted Delhi Police as saying.
In clashes on Monday during the march to parliament, police used tear gas and batons to push back protesters.
Protesters reject Modi’s proposal for special courts
Earlier Thursday, Modi said special courts would be set up to prosecute those behind exam leaks, his first public response to the crisis.
“Nothing is more important than the well-being and future of our youth!” Modi posted on X.
But the CJP rejected the proposal, saying that what courts do after document leaks is only one aspect of the problem.
“But Modi-ji, first of all, tell us why there are paper leaks in this country?” CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said, using the Hindi honorific.
“In this country they create fast-track courts for every other matter, but if those fast-track courts have really resolved those issues, you know the answer to that question, and so do we.”
Later in the day, Modi said on social media that the government would announce stricter action against paper leaks at a cabinet meeting on Friday.
Top Bollywood stars including Salman Khan, Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor supported the protesters through social media posts and said it was heartening to see students coming together to fight for a cause.
The CJP protests began as online satire and only involved a few hundred young people when they were first launched.
The movement’s rise in popularity reflects frustrations among young Indians over issues such as job shortages as well as frequent exam leaks.
