Gitanjali Angmo Defends Sonam Wangchuk's Hunger Strike End Amid NEET Leak Protests

NEW DELHI: Gitanjali Angmo on Friday came to the defence of her husband Sonam Wangchuk's decision to end his 26-day hunger strike against the NEET paper leak, urging critics to show compassion instead of rushing to judge him. In a post on X, Angmo said Wangchuk had "chosen sacrifice over comfort" and added that not everyone was qualified to judge a life dedicated to selfless service. "Before you rush to criticise Sonam Wangchuk, first pause to earn the ethos of fasting for 26 days for a cause larger than yourself," Angmo said. "He lies in the ICU today, having lost 11 kg, including muscle mass, because he chose sacrifice over comfort. The least we can offer him is a day of compassion before burdening him with our own expectations and political calculations. Not everyone is qualified to judge a life of selfless service. One must first earn the moral stature to do so. Please. Have a heart," she added. This comes after Wangchuk ended his hunger strike in the presence of Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh, saying the decision followed prolonged negotiations and was taken to avoid any possibility of violence in the country. In a separate post on X, Wangchuk said he broke his fast in the presence of the two Union ministers and senior leaders of the Apex Body of Leh Ladakh. He added that 65 MPs from different political parties had either visited him or signed letters urging him to end the fast. Meanwhile, the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) said it would continue its nationwide "peaceful protests" demanding the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. "The Cockroach Janata Party's peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar will continue until Dharmendra Pradhan resigns," CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said in a statement after Wangchuk ended his hunger strike.