NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing student protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, CJP founder-president Abhijeet Dipke on Friday expressed relief after Sonam Wangchuk‘s decision to end his indefinite hunger strike but claimed that the activist had been kept isolated during the protest.Speaking to the media, Dipke alleged that while Union minister JP Nadda was allowed to meet Wangchuk, opposition MPs and even members of the CJP were denied access.“I think the govt had kept Sonam Wangchuk detained. JP Nadda could meet him, but no Opposition MPs could meet him. Even we could not meet him. I am very happy that Sonam sir has called off his hunger strike,” he said.Dipke said the protest would continue, adding that the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan remained the group’s key demand.“Nothing short of resignation (of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan) is acceptable to us. The protest will not be called off.”He also said the movement was being led by students and young people, not political parties.“This protest belongs to the youth of the nation and is not limited to one Sonam Wangchuk or Dipke. This protest belongs to the youth of the nation, not the Opposition parties. If the government wants a solution to the protest, it is only the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan,” Abhijeet Dipke said.CJP spokesperson Saurav Das said a delegation had been invited to meet government representatives at the Constitution Club of India, where Union ministers JP Nadda and Bhupendra Singh are expected to attend.“The delegation has been invited for talks with the government at 12:30 pm.JP Nadda and Bhupendra Singh will be present. They will convey the government’s stance and address the demands, though some issues remain non-negotiable. The meeting will not take place at their offices. If they are reluctant to visit Jantar Mantar, perhaps out of apprehension, it could be held at the Constitution Club of India. They took two days to consider the matter and confirmed last night that the meeting would take place at the Constitution Club,” he said while addressing a press conference.CJP representative Ashutosh Ranka said the organisers had no previous experience in political activism before launching the protest.He said, “When we first arrived at Jantar Mantar on June 6th after Deep had just landed from America, I went personally to receive him; we had never seen Jantar Mantar in our lives; we had never seen it before.”Earlier, Wangchuk ended his 26-day hunger strike at Medanta Hospital in the presence of Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh after the Centre gave a written assurance on the NEET issue and reforms to the country’s competitive examination system.“The Ministers who came from the government’s side also provided this assurance. For the past two days, a very tough–how shall I say–a kind of ‘bargain’ was going on because I wanted these assurances in writing. It took two extra days for this, and I would have sat longer if needed, but finally, today, they have given the assurance in writing,” Wangchuk said.
