Meanwhile, six students affiliated with the All India Students’ Association (AISA) continued their indefinite hunger strike from a separate stage at the protest venue.
On Thursday, AISA said the health of the fasting students had also worsened. It said Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union joint secretary Danish’s blood sugar had dropped to 50 mg/dL, while fellow protester Deepak Kumar Verma’s reading fell to 59 mg/dL.
The organisation said Manish and Aameen each recorded blood sugar levels of 63 mg/dL, while Neha and Hrishikesh registered 68 mg/dL. Alleging that most of the students were at risk of losing consciousness, AISA said they would continue their fast until Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned.
The broader protest entered its 14th day on Friday and has received support from several Opposition leaders and civil society figures over the past week, including CPI(M) general-secretary M.A. Baby, senior CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, CPI general-secretary D. Raja, CPI(ML) Liberation general-secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, social activist Yogendra Yadav, Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan, CPI leader Annie Raja, transparency activist Anjali Bhardwaj, RTI activist Nikhil Dey and TMC MP Sagarika Ghose.
Dipke has said the campaign will also raise broader accountability issues, including the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
With PTI inputs
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