CJP's Abhijeet Dipke ends hunger strike as group's members claim to meet Union minister JP Nadda

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke on Monday (July 20) ended his hunger strike at Jantar Mantar, as massive crowd gathered at the location for the scheduled Parliament march on Day 1 of the Monsoon Session. Dipke sat on a hunger strike on Saturday, after activist Sonam Wangchuk was removed from the protest site and shifted to Safdarjung Hospital by the Delhi police citing a court order. Dipke and Wangchuk along with several other students are demanding the resognation of Indian education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's over exam irregularities and NEET paper leak.

Dipke drank water and announced end to his hunger strike from the stage at the Jantar Mantar after CJP's Spokesperson Saurav Das said that they are in talks with the Indian government and held meeting with New Delhi Deputy Commissioner. He also wrote in a post on X that he and Saurav Das are on their way to meet Union Minister JP Nadda. “The government had reached out for talks in the morning. Our demands are clear. The youth has gathered in huge numbers,” he added.

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AISA students break hunger strike

Earlier, three students from All India Students’ Association (AISA) called off the hunger strike after prominent civil society figures and opposition parliamentarians intervened. Veteran actor Shabana Azmi, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha, actor-activist Prakash Raj, activist Yogendra Yadav, lawyer Prashant Bhushan, CPI(M) MP Amra Ram, Aam Aadmi Party leaders Atishi, Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia, Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief Chandrashekhar Azad, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, joined the protesters at Jantar Mantar this morning.

Also Read: CJP says it's 'in talks with govt' as Monsoon Session begins amid Opposition ruckus

Delhi Police action and Parliament march

This comes as Delhi Police placed heavy security in the New Delhi area and videos showed riots police resorting to lathi-charge to disperse the crowd. It must be noted that Delhi Police had not given permission for the “Chalo Sansad” march even as thousands gathered for it. While the Delhi Police denied using force against the students, several videos showed injured protesters and police lathi-charging on them. Additionally, the entry and exit of the metro stations Rajiv Chowk, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat and Seva Teerth were closed for a brief period along with internet being snapped in the area.