Actor Atul Kulkarni has announced that he will observe a day long fast at his home on Thursday to support education reformer and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk in his hunger strike to protest against exam paper leaks.
Wangchuk has been on an indefinite hunger strike after joining the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP) protest demanding education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination.
The “Rang De Basanti” star shared a video on social media on Wednesday evening to extend his support to Wangchuk.
“I will go on a hunger strike on June 16. There are two reasons for this—I want to connect with the pain that Sonam Wangchuk ji and his companions are going through and an appeal to our government to express their sensitivity. Sonam ji and his companions believe that there are some serious and painful reasons and for that they have certain demands. It is clear that our government believes that those demands are not justified,” Kulkarni said on Instagram.
The actor then urged fans and followers to connect to Wangchuk by observing a one day fast.
“Go for the hunger strike for a day. I once heard a gentle and wise person say that it is important for pain to have a relationship with pain. So, let us connect pain with pain. Let us begin a movement and try to do a one-day fast,” he said.
From film fraternity, “3 Idiots” star Omy Vaidya, Zeenat Aman, Soni Razdan, Shabana Azmi, Anurag Kashyap and Abhay Deol have extended their support to Wangchuk while urging him to end his fast of 19 days.
According to the latest medical bulletin issued by Dr Satish Lamba, Wangchuk has lost more than nine kg since beginning his hunger strike. His blood sugar was recorded at 80 mg/dL, pulse rate at 72 per minute, while his blood pressure was 105/61 mmHg in the lying position and 101/65 mmHg while sitting. Doctors said his hydration was fair and he remained mentally alert.