Sonam Wangchuk hunger strike LIVE: Activist's protest continues; outrage grows over vlogger's ‘food review’ at strike

SOnam Wangchuk hungriness walk out unrecorded: activistic Sonam Wangchuk's hungriness strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi entered day 18 on Wednesday as he and the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) continue to demand the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in the NEET (UG) 2026 exam and other exams. A petition has been filed before the Delhi high court, calling for Sonam Wangchuk to be taken to a hospital and ensure he receives the required medical treatment, including force-feeding.The protest by CJP at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi has entered its 25th day on Wednesday. Wangchuk, educationist and climate activist, joined the demonstration on June 28 and began an indefinite hunger strike at the site to support the CJP stir.Sonam Wangchuk health updateCJP founder Abhijeet Dipke has been sharing daily updates on Wangchuk's health ever since the strike began.In one such update on Tuesday, the CJP founder said that the activist has started to lose muscle mass and is in immense pain, but he still refuses to quit.Dipke said that Wangchuk has lost more than 8.4kg in weight ever since his huger strike began. He added that his blood pressure has been dropping and has fallen down to 109/70, as of Tuesday.In a post on X, he wrote, “He 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.”CJP's protest enters day 25, ‘Chalo Sansad’ march on July 20Cockroach Janta Party's protest entered day 25 on Wednesday, while Sonam Wangchuk's hunger strike entered day 18.The CJP has been demanding Pradhan’s resignation and ₹1 crore compensation for the families of the students who died by suicide over the alleged examination irregularities.Intensifying its pressure on the government, the CJP has also announced a “Chalo Sansad” march on July 20, the opening day of the Monsoon Session of the Parliament, and urged supporters to register their participation through a missed-call campaign.‘I am not Gandhi; be your own hero’: WangchukIn a video posted on X on Friday night, Wangchuk said he is "just an ordinary citizen", not a "modern Gandhi" or a hero and urged people to become the "heroes" of their own lives instead of looking for someone else to lead."Today, on the 13th day of my fast, I am not feeling as energetic as I was yesterday. I am feeling a little tired. It happens -- some days are better and some are not," he said.Thanking people for supporting the movement on social media, Wangchuk said two kinds of comments left him disappointed."Many people call me the Gandhi of the 21st century or a modern Gandhi. Others call me a hero. These comments make me uncomfortable. I am neither Gandhi nor a hero. I am just an ordinary citizen who has tried to fulfil his responsibilities," he said.