Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday visited climate activist Sonam Wangchuk at Jantar Mantar and expressed solidarity with his indefinite hunger strike. The visit came on Day 19 of Wangchuk's protest, which demands the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
Kejriwal compares Wangchuk's protest to Anna Hazare movement
Addressing the gathering, Kejriwal drew a direct comparison between Wangchuk's hunger strike and the 2011 Anna Hazare anti-corruption movement that launched his own political career. According to National Herald, the AAP chief said Wangchuk's protest recalls the 2011 anti-corruption movement that launched his political journey.
Kejriwal urged the Centre to heed the concerns of students and young people protesting against repeated examination paper leaks. "Every year, exam papers get leaked and youth pay the price. I appeal to the government to listen to students and Wangchuk," the former Delhi chief minister said, as reported by National Herald.
Demand for Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation
Calling for accountability, Kejriwal demanded that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan step down over the repeated exam paper leaks. He suggested that Wangchuk should instead be appointed the country's education minister, highlighting the activist's credibility on education issues.
According to LiveMint, Kejriwal also slammed the BJP over paper leaks, warning the government to listen to the youth "otherwise you will…" — though the full warning was not detailed in the reports.
Our Take: A political echo from 2011
Kejriwal's invocation of the Anna Hazare movement is a deliberate political move. By drawing a parallel between Wangchuk's hunger strike and the 2011 anti-corruption protests, he is trying to frame the current NEET paper leak issue as a similar moment of public outrage against government failure. In our view, this comparison is effective — it reminds voters of the energy that brought Kejriwal to power. But the real question is whether the government will treat this protest with the same seriousness it gave to Anna Hazare's movement. So far, the silence from the Education Ministry suggests otherwise.
