NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke began an indefinite hunger strike on Saturday shortly after Delhi Police shifted activist Sonam Wangchuk to Safdarjung Hospital from the Jantar Mantar protest site.
Following the police action, the youth-led outfit escalated its agitation, demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resignation and vowing to press ahead with its planned Parliament march on July 20.
"I am starting an indefinite hunger strike beginning right now," Dipke said in a post on X after Wangchuk was taken to the hospital.
In another post, CJP raised the pitch of its protest, saying, "Modi must resign!"
The outfit, which has so far been demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET paper leak, said the movement would continue despite Wangchuk's removal from the protest site.
CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka alleged that Wangchuk had been "manhandled and forcefully removed" by Delhi Police, and some protesters were assaulted during the operation.
"We are at Jantar Mantar, where some time ago Sonam Wangchuk was manhandled and forcefully removed. In the morning, people take a 10-15 minute break to freshen up. Delhi Police committed this cowardly act at that time. Abhijeet Dipke has started a hunger strike. We will not move from here. On July 20, join us for the march to Parliament. This is a fight to save the country. We should not go back," Ranka said.
Wangchuk was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital early Saturday, with Delhi Police citing expert medical advice and directions of the Delhi High Court after his health deteriorated on the 21st day of his indefinite fast.
Following the police action, Dipke alleged that he had been beaten up and detained during "a crackdown on protesters".
Police, however, said Wangchuk was shifted for "essential medical care" and appealed to protesters to peacefully vacate the site.
Wangchuk's wife Gitanjali J Angmo, meanwhile, stressed that he should not be administered any medical treatment without her consent and that of their doctors.
The CJP shared a video recorded on Friday in which government doctors were seen asking Wangchuk whether he wished to be hospitalised.
In the video, Wangchuk is heard replying, "This is not a disease or a disorder, this is a self-chosen path," while Dr Satish Lamba says that the court had only directed that Wangchuk be medically monitored and not hospitalised.
Despite Wangchuk's hospitalisation, the protest continued at Jantar Mantar, with All India Students' Association (AISA) activists Neha, Aameen and Manish continuing their indefinite hunger strike in solidarity with the movement.
Wangchuk has been on an indefinite hunger strike since June 28 in support of the CJP-led protest over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination and the reported deaths of students linked to the controversy.
Protest organisers have said that the planned march to Parliament on July 20, coinciding with the start of the Monsoon session, will go ahead as scheduled.