Abhijeet Dipke of the Cockroach Janta Party used a whiteboard message at Jantar Mantar to wish Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan a happy birthday while demanding his resignation. The protest over alleged NEET irregularities entered its seventh day on Friday. Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk announced plans for a hunger strike starting June 28 if demands are not met.
Dipke wrote “Happy Birthday, Pradhan. Please resign” on a whiteboard as supporters sang the birthday song. He offered to send a resignation letter as a gift that Pradhan would only need to stamp with his thumb.
The sit-in at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar has continued without government outreach, according to Dipke. He questioned authorities on the NEET paper leak and student suicides, noting at least 17 such deaths reported in connection with the issue.
Wangchuk, speaking from Geneva, said he would begin an indefinite hunger strike on June 28 unless the government responds to the Cockroach Janta Party demands by June 27. He has supported the protests since they began on June 6.