Sonam Wangchuk ends hunger strike; reports claim Congress MP Vivek Tankha helped break deadlock

Social activist Sonam Wangchuk has ended his hunger strike after what he described as two days of continuous talks with the central government. Reports claim Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha played a key role in facilitating backchannel discussions that helped resolve the impasse.

According to the reports, backchannel negotiations continued for nearly three days, with efforts made at multiple levels to reach a consensus. Some Ladakhi leaders are also reported to have acted as intermediaries during the discussions. Tankha has previously represented Wangchuk in the Supreme Court in a case related to the National Security Act, and the two are said to share a longstanding professional relationship.

In a video message released on Friday, Wangchuk said the government did not offer any assurance regarding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. He said his primary concern was securing relief for protesting students and preventing action against them, adding that the minister's resignation was not his foremost demand.

Wangchuk said he decided to end the hunger strike after receiving written assurances from the government on three key demands. According to Wangchuk, the government agreed to refrain from registering cases against protesting students, discuss the paper leak issue and accountability in the examination system in Parliament, and provide appropriate compensation to the families of students who died by suicide.

The government has not publicly confirmed the reported assurances or the claims regarding the role of intermediaries. Connect Newsroom has reached out for comment. No response was received by publication time.