Wangchuk Says Union Ministers Betrayed His Trust by Sharing Hospital Photos

Sonam Wangchuk Alleges Breach of Trust Over Photos of 26-Day Hunger Strike Ending

Education reform activist Sonam Wangchuk has accused the Centre of breaking a promise by releasing photographs of him ending his 26-day hunger strike, claiming the move created a false political narrative and left him disillusioned with leaders across party lines.

Speaking to India Today Consulting Editor Rajdeep Sardesai, Wangchuk said he had reached a clear understanding with Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh that images from their late-night meeting would not be made public until Opposition leaders and student representatives were also associated with the announcement.

“The ministers had their own photographers. They assured me those photographs would not be released. That promise was broken,” Wangchuk said.

Sought an All-Party Message

Wangchuk said he wanted the conclusion of his hunger strike to be presented as a collective effort rather than a political event linked to the ruling party alone.

According to him, he proposed that while he would end the fast that night, the official announcement and photographs should be released only after similar pictures with Opposition leaders and student representatives were taken.

He claimed the ministers accepted the proposal and that senior Intelligence Bureau officials present during the meeting witnessed the agreement.

Images Surfaced Within Minutes

However, Wangchuk alleged that the understanding was violated almost immediately.

He said that while arrangements were being made to include leaders from other political parties, an Intelligence Bureau officer informed him that photographs of the ministers helping him break the fast were already being aired by television channels.

The activist said the episode wrongly fuelled speculation that he had reached a private deal with the government.

“I didn’t sit on a hunger strike for 26 days to make a midnight deal. Had that been my intention, I could have done it much earlier,” he said.

‘I’ve Lost Trust in Political Leaders’

Wangchuk said the incident severely damaged his faith in the political class.

“When a promise made in front of witnesses is broken within minutes, it becomes difficult to trust political leaders,” he said.

Wangchuk had begun his indefinite hunger strike on June 28 after joining the Abhijeet Dipke-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest over the NEET paper leak issue at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.

Following a deterioration in his health, he was shifted to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram, where Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh met him. After the Centre announced measures to strengthen anti-paper leak laws, Wangchuk ended his 26-day fast on July 24. The subsequent release of photographs showing the ministers offering him soup has since become the centre of a political controversy.