Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata

Kolkata, Jul 14: Former West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday extended her support to the ongoing protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar over the alleged NEET paper leak and spoke to social activist Sonam Wangchuk to enquire about his health.

According to organisers of the protest, Banerjee expressed solidarity with the movement demanding justice for students and urged Wangchuk to remain strong as he continues his indefinite hunger strike.

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), thanked the Trinamool Congress leader for her support in a social media post. He said Banerjee had personally spoken to Wangchuk to check on his condition and conveyed her support for the campaign seeking accountability in the NEET paper leak case.

The protest began at Jantar Mantar on June 20, with demonstrators demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged irregularities in the NEET examination.

Wangchuk joined the agitation from its inception and later announced that he would begin an indefinite fast if the Centre failed to respond to the protesters' demands by June 27. After receiving no assurance from the government, he started his hunger strike on June 28.

As his health reportedly deteriorated during the fast, several individuals and organisations appealed to him to end the hunger strike.

Wangchuk has been observing the fast in support of Dipke, who continues to stage a sit-in at Jantar Mantar, demanding action over the alleged examination paper leak that affected lakhs of students across the country.

Banerjee's expression of support drew attention as she herself had undertaken a prolonged 26-day hunger strike during the Singur anti-land acquisition movement, making her one of the prominent political leaders to publicly back the ongoing protest.