‘Apolitical’ Cockroach protest caught between absent Rahul, indifferent Modi govt while Wangchuk's health worsens

AS Sonam Wangchuk's hungriness walk out entered its 16th daytime on mon, with his weighting loss touching 8.2 kg and blood glucose dropping to 67 mg/dL, the satirical and statedly apolitical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) found itself pressed between two sides of the political divide — Rahul Gandhi’s Congress so far unwilling to show up, and Narendra Modi’s government that refuses to engage.Abhijeet Dipke, who has centered the protest around a demand for education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over paper leaks, underlined the government’s apathy, as he noted this week that not a single minister or delegation has come to speak with Wangchuk.Pradhan, meanwhile, has gone on to use the words “B-team of terrorists” for the CJP, founded and named thus by Dipke earlier this year as a riff on some sharp comments by the Chief Justice of India,Dipke anyhow asked the Centre not to turn the standoff into what he called “a battle of egos”, arguing that acknowledging fault would be “a sign of maturity, not weakness”.He also said on Tuesday, “[Sonam Wangchuk] has started losing muscle mass and is in immense pain. Like everyone else, I begged him to end his fast. He calmly replied, ‘Don’t ask me to end my fast. Ask the government why they won’t even have a dialogue.’" Amid this, the main Opposition party Congress, which has overtly avoided the CJP site, has underlined the government's attitude and drawn comparisons with 12 years ago. It castigated the BJP-led NDA over how it’s been attacking the protest that is now in its fourth week. Party spokesperson Pawan Khera said Anna Hazare's fast during the 2011-12 Jan Lokpal movement, when Manmohan Singh was PM in a Congress-led UPA government, was treated with respect even as it played a part in eventually unseating it.Dipke, who once worked with the AAP that emerged from the Anna movement, himself invoked the difference. Unlike 2011, today's government does not place the same value on human life, he has said.What Wangchuk saysWangchuk, when asked if he expected top Opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi or Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav to visit him, said “people from all parties will come”.“If they don't (come), it would be a sign of great pettiness on their part, and the public will reject them, saying that you are being ‘possessive’ about issues,” he told Indian Express Hindi. He added, “Different people have different timings. They will definitely come. If they don't come, that too will be a message, and it won't be good for any party.”‘Apolitical’ positioningDipke has consistently rejected framing the CJP as a proxy for any party, telling reporters, “The movement does not depend on political parties to carry it forward.”He has invited leaders across the spectrum, including the BJP, to join the protest — on the condition they arrive without party flags, carrying only the tricolour. Analysts have said the CJP wants to tap into the youth or Gen-Z demographic that typically stays out of politics altogether, and is wary of labels.Wangchuk also said this, “This platform has no colour. It is open to all parties and all ideologies. That's why I am associated with it. If I saw even a hint of politics in this, I wouldn't have come here; and if I see it now, I would get up and leave.”The utterly apolitical framing has come under strain over the past week.The protest has been attended by CPI’s Annie Raja and CPI(ML) Liberation's Dipankar Bhattacharya, both from the Left whose student unions are actively participating in the protest, though under a separate tent — what would be called “outside support” in a parliamentary system. Support has since widened to include TMC MP Mahua Moitra, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, AAP's Atishi, and more CPI(M) leaders including Amra Ram, MA Baby and Brinda Karat, all of whom have visited the protest site or issued statements of solidarity. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal also called Dipke and enquired about Wangchuk’s health.Mahua Moitra also posted on social media: “Sonam Sir, your fast has united this country’s youth in their war for justice. Your goal is reached. Govt doesn’t care about your life or that of crores of youth. But your life matters to us. Pls call off fast & continue the fight.”But the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi of the Congress, has not appeared at Jantar Mantar in support of the CJP protest.He did meet students who exposed irregularities in the CBSE paper-checking system at his home, but has neither backed nor slammed the CJP's movement. ‘Where is Rahul’ echoes amid separate outreachThe Congress on June 17 launched its own campaign, ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’, built around Gandhi's earlier demands on NEET decentralisation, scrapping exam fees, and action against those responsible for paper leaks, including minister Pradhan.But only one major rally, in Kota, has been held so far; the next one is in Dehradun on July 18. Some events planned for Prayagraj, Patna and Delhi this week were deferred with Gandhi on an extended foreign trip expected to return only around July 17.This has given the BJP an issue to amplify online, though the ruling party did not refer to his absence at the CJP protest; it said he was missing when Wayanad, one of his traditional strongholds, saw major landslide and rain-related mishaps.As for the common cause between CJP and Gandhi, Dharmendra Pradhan has accused the Congress leader of “stoking needless fear among students”.BJP president Nitin Nabin has described groups like the CJP as "virus and cockroach-like parties, trying to divide the country”.What comes nextAt the protest site, even as the Anna Andolan parallel has been drawn by commentators and Dipke himself, Ladakh-based Wangchuk has pushed back on being cast as a successor to Mahatma Gandhi or Anna Hazare in the manner of protest.In a video on X, he said comparisons to a "modern Gandhi” or a “hero” made him uncomfortable. “I am an ordinary citizen trying to fulfil my responsibilities,” he said.The CJP has announced a march from Jantar Mantar to Parliament on July 20, the opening day of the monsoon session, with Shiv Sena (UBT) saying it would hold parallel demonstrations in Maharashtra and raise the issue on the floor of the House.CJP spokesperson Vijeta Dahiya has appealed for public mobilisation ahead of the march, launching a missed-call campaign and an “I Support Sonam” social media push. The CJP's core demands remain Pradhan's resignation and compensation for the families of students who died by suicide amid the examination controversies.So far, the CJP has underlined that its protest has been peaceful, while it remains under constant police surveillance.