Sonam Wangchuk ends 26-day hunger strike after Centre's assurances

NEW DELHI: Activist Sonam Wangchuk has ended his 26-day indefinite hunger strike after the Centre assured him that his demands would be addressed. The breakthrough came after Union Ministers J.P. Nadda and Jitendra Singh met Wangchuk at Medanta Hospital shortly after midnight and conveyed the government's assurances.

In a post on X, Wangchuk said he had ended his fast after "long negotiations on various conditions" and in view of the possibility of violence in the country.

Just now in the presence of Union Ministers Sh. JP Nadda, Dr. Jitendra Singh and the senior leaders of Apex Body of Leh Ladakh I finally broke my fast after 26 days. Earlier 65 members of parliament from different political parties had visited or signed letters urging me to break… pic.twitter.com/RFCet7Oksy

— Sonam Wangchuk (@Wangchuk66) July 23, 2026

The 59-year-old activist had been on an indefinite hunger strike since June 28 in solidarity with the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which has been demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET examination question paper leak.