‘Democracy has been dead for a long time’: Bengaluru youth leaders back CJP

Bengaluru

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), displaying a resilience befitting its name, has been staging an indefinite sit-in protest and hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi since June 20. In the early hours of July 18, the Delhi Police forcibly removed Indian innovator and activist Sonam Wangchuk from his protest site, where he had been on an indefinite hunger strike for nearly 21 days. He had reportedly lost around nine kilograms during the fast and was showing signs of severe weakness as his health continued to deteriorate.

The Delhi Police personnel, both in plain clothes and uniform, entered the protest site, formed a human chain around Wangchuk and blocked public view with white bedsheets before physically lifting him off the stage and taking him in an ambulance to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. Police said the action was carried out in compliance with directions from the Delhi High Court. However, protesters and members of the CJP alleged that the move was a direct attack on democratic rights and peaceful protest.

Wangchuk and the CJP urged the public to participate in the party’s ‘Sansad Chalo’ (March to Parliament) protest march scheduled to be held in Delhi on Monday. “When Sonam Wangchuk was abducted, many said democracy had died. But democracy in this country has been dead for a long time”, said Harish Gopi of the All India Students’ Association (AISA), Bengaluru, criticising what he described as the government’s “deafening silence” over the incident.

He alleged that despite CJP members and other protesters holding a peaceful demonstration at Jantar Mantar, the authorities responded with force. “The Centre has become so fascist that it no longer cares about democratic rights or peaceful dissent”, he said. “First of all, we have to understand that what we are seeing right now in the form of the CJP is essentially the pent-up frustration and anger of students and youth against the BJP-RSS regime, which is now coming out in the form of this spontaneous protest”, said Aratrika, General Secretary, All India Students’ Association (AISA), Bengaluru.

She added that AISA has played an important role in broadening the movement’s demands beyond those directed at Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, drawing attention to the overall crumbling education sector that is riddled with privatisation. “Overall, I feel that all students need to look beyond their immediate future and overcome any fear of state repression or immediate backlash. They need to think not only about their own generation but also about future generations who will continue to suffer under the same education system. They should come out in support and extend their solidarity in whatever form possible”, she said.

She further said that the outcome of the protest could have wider implications for democratic movements in the country. “If the protest is successful, it will be a victory for broader political movements. But if it is not, it will show that there is no democratic space left in India - not even for a Gandhian movement. That, too, will be an eye-opening experience for many people who still have some hope in this government”, she added.

Opposition leaders must step up
Sachin, District President of the AISA, Karnataka, said that despite differences among progressive movements and organisations, they should come together in support of the ongoing movement, which he described as a struggle against an “anti-people government”. He said the movement has helped people better understand systemic shortcomings and gaps, while also bringing several pressing issues into public discussion. “I think it is time for other organisations and Opposition leaders to come together in support of the students and the protest.

They should put their differences aside, come forward and speak up”, he said. Speaking about AISA members Danish Ali, Hrishikesh and Deepak, who were hospitalised after suffering from dehydration while participating in the hunger strike, Sachin said that the organisation’s members had courageously stepped forward to take responsibility.