Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike has now entered its 18th day, and concerns about the activist are only growing by the minute. The support for him has been interesting to see, with there being very little in the beginning; however, now, several public figures, including celebrities, activists, politicians and even Supreme Court judges, advocates and more, have vocally declared their support for his cause.
There are equally as many, though, who are also appealing to Wangchuk to give up the fast and prioritise his health, after news came out that he’s lost almost 8 kilograms since starting the strike and other health issues have begun. People now are concerned that Wangchuk might not survive this hunger strike and are appealing to him to put his life first, since the country needs leaders like him.
In the midst of this, though, an SC lawyer has also come forward to raise the issue of authorities photographing the protesters present at Jantar Mantar and how it violates privacy.
What Is The CJP Protest/Hunger Strike For?
It is first important to understand why Sonam Wangchuk is on hunger strike and how the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) is involved.
An indefinite hunger strike was started by Sonam Wangchuk, a 59-year-old engineer, education reformer, and climate activist from Ladakh, on June 28 when he joined the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
CJP, a youth-led satirical movement, has been holding protests demanding this from the Indian government after the 2026 NEET-UG paper leak. The May 3 examination was cancelled on May 12 after accusations of a paper leak came forward.
This resulted in massive catastrophic chaos where students committed suicide and wailed over the injustice of it.
CJP started a protest against Pradhan, demanding his resignation and Rs. 1 crore in compensation for families whose children committed suicide after the cancellation in June, at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.
A few days later, Sonam Wangchuk joined the protest and started his hunger strike.
Read More: ED VoxPop: Would You Join Cockroach Janta Party As A Gen Z, If It Became A Political Party?
What Has The Supreme Court Lawyer Alleged
According to a South First report, Supreme Court lawyer Subhash Chandran has talked about how they will be filing a petition against the photographing of protesters during the hunger strike and CJP protests.
Former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Aishe Ghosh has filed this petition, with Chandran KR and Anirudh KP acting as representatives under Article 226 of the Constitution.
Chandra claims that around 25-30 police photographers were following everyone who was meeting with Sonam Wangchuk and/or Abhijeet Dipke.
He was also quoted by South First, saying, “They can install CCTV cameras if they are concerned about law and order; we are not opposing that. But personally following people and photographing them is a clear violation of privacy. We are drafting a petition against this and will file it before the Delhi High Court on Thursday, 16 July.”
Another female lawyer reportedly said, “We are continuing our protest with limited facilities, and now we are even scared to change our clothes. Following everyone and taking their photographs is a clear violation of privacy, especially for women.”
This is not the first time that allegations of authorities or the Delhi Police recording and photographing protesters at Jantar Mantar have come forward. On June 6, 2026, India Today reported that “During the Cockroach Janata Party protest at Jantar Mantar, several Delhi Police personnel were seen carrying cameras and documenting the demonstration.”
The ground reporting showed people wearing orange vests and carrying a camera around and claimed that they were “Delhi photography police personnel who are deployed here to click pictures of the protesters.”
The reporter added, “How we usually see body cams in the US, that’s something which is happening here. In India, we’re not seeing any of the policemen wearing body cams, but we are seeing that from the police side, there are photographers just to click pictures of the protest.”
In another report by Daily City News (DCN), a video showed how “protesters confronting a man they allege was photographing women volunteers during an ongoing protest in Delhi.” The man was alleged to be with the police as well.
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There have been other videos posted by digital content creators and news media outlets raising similar allegations.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke in an X/Twitter post also raised this concern, writing, “Why has the government asked the police to record women volunteers? Last night, some officials were caught taking photos of women volunteers. When confronted, they fled the spot.”
The Delhi Police has not made an official statement on these allegations, though, and the claims have also not been verified yet on their accuracy.
However, an anonymous Delhi Police officer told ThePrint in a report from June that, “Protest sites nowadays, such as the one of today, are full of digital media professionals who carry similar cameras used by the police personnel as part of their work at the site of the protest. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of such camerapersons at the site of the protest and hence a call was given to our photographers to wear the vest for seamless identification.”
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: The South First, The Print, The Economic Times
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: Sonam Wangchuk, Sonam Wangchuk hunger strike reason, Sonam Wangchuk protest, Sonam Wangchuk CJP, CJP protest, Sonam Wangchuk hunger strike, Dharmendra Pradhan resignation, education accountability, NEET paper leak, examination irregularities, Jantar Mantar protests, sonam wangchuk hunger strike news, sonam wangchuk news, cjp, cjp protest delhi, cjp protest jantar mantar, cjp protest news
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