‘Students Are Indians, Not Pakistanis’: CJP Founder’s Father Slams Govt

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jul 18 : Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke’s father on Saturday expressed concern over his son sitting on an indefinite fast at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, and asked how the government could be so “merciless” to the students who are Indian nationals, and not Pakistanis. Claiming that students are on indefinite hunger strikes in various parts of the country, Bhagwan Dipke asked whether the government is waiting for someone to die. He accused the government of not listening to demands raised by students and threatened to join his son’s indefinite fast. A high drama unfolded at Jantar Mantar on Saturday morning when police shifted activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was on an indefinite hunger strike for the last 20 days demanding accountability in the alleged NEET exam irregularities, to the Safdarjung Hospital after his health deteriorated. Shortly after the police action, Abhijeet Dipke began an indefinite hunger strike. Speaking to a Marathi news channel in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Bhagwan Dipke expressed concern over his son’s hunger strike. “As a father, I am concerned about Abhijeet. I pray that God should give wisdom to Narendra Modi, who is sitting on the throne, so that better sense prevails and the government listens to the agitating students. In various parts of the country, students are on a hunger strike. “Is the government waiting for someone to die? How many people should die for them? He has no mercy. If he is a human being, he should listen to the students,” Bhagwan Dipke said while targeting the prime minister. He added that if the government doesn’t listen to students, “we will also go to the agitation site and launch a hunger strike in Delhi”. Slamming the government over its alleged indifference to students’ demands, he asked whether protesters are from Pakistan? “Are these (agitating) students from Pakistan or any other country? They are Indians. This person should not behave so mercilessly. I don’t have any relatives or anyone from my community who has appeared for the NEET exam now,” Bhagwan Dipke added. His wife said the government should have decided about Wangchuk after July 20, when the agitation would have completed a month. ”This agitation in Delhi was going on peacefully. Abhijeet has begun an indefinite fast after Sonam Wangchuk was taken to the hospital. We are concerned about him. We last spoke to him (Abhijeet) over the phone three days ago. The government should have taken a decision after July 20,” she added. She said only the government knows why this agitation is not being taken seriously. The police’s move to interrupt Wangchuk’s fast and shift him to the hospital sparked widespread condemnation from the Opposition parties. Wangchuk had 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. His health had shown a steady decline over the past three weeks. On Friday, doctors said Wangchuk had lost nearly 9.5 kg since the beginning of the hunger strike, while his blood pressure and blood sugar levels had remained under close monitoring. On Friday night, Wangchuk had said he was still determined to continue the fast despite his worsening condition, claiming he had “lost 20 per cent of my body” during the 20-day hunger strike.