‘Make Sonam Wangchuk education minister’: AAP chief Kejriwal at Jantar Mantar

Former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal extended a proposal to the central government - make Sonam Wangchuk the Union Education Minister after Dharmendra Pradhan resigns.

4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 16, 2026 09:03 PM IST

Kejriwal said young people from across the country had come together to demand reforms in the examination system, and commended them for raising their voice for a fair and transparent education system. (Express photo)

As climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan entered its 19th day on Thursday, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal joined him at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, lending support to the protest.

Wangchuk has been on hunger strike since June 28 as part of a protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), demanding Pradhan’s resignation over repeated examination paper leaks and wider reforms in the country’s examination system.

Standing beside Wangchuk, Kejriwal accused the Centre of failing India’s students and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to replace Pradhan with Wangchuk, calling the educationist better suited to lead the country’s education system.

“I would like to welcome the youth from all over the country who have gathered under the banner of the Cockroach movement to improve the education system and examination system of our country,” Kejriwal said to hundreds of protesters.

“I would like to salute Sonam Wangchuk ji, who has been working tirelessly for the past 19 days for you, for the youth and for the children of our country.”

Calling Wangchuk “a great educationist”, Kejriwal said he had “worked tirelessly for… Ladakh many times” and praised him for “risking his life for the country”.

Calling the recurring paper leaks a crisis of public faith in meritocracy, Kejriwal said, “When a child goes to write a competitive examination, it is not merely an examination; it is a dream… The child enters the examination hall believing that through hard work and intelligence, he will build his future.”

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Drawing from his own experience, Kejriwal said he had qualified for the Indian Institute of Technology at a time when examination leaks were unheard of. “I also appeared for the IIT examination and studied at IIT. In those days, there was no paper leak,” he said. “If papers were leaked then, perhaps I would never have had the confidence to attempt the examination.”

“My two children also graduated from IIT. Even during their time, there was no leak. But over the past few years, the way papers have been leaked, the confidence of a child has begun to collapse. This is dangerous for the country.”

Referring to the NEET controversy, Kejriwal alleged that successive investigations had failed to dismantle the networks responsible for paper leaks.

“This has become a system — papers leak, a committee is formed, an investigation begins, an FIR is registered, arrests are made, bail is granted, and preparations begin for the next year’s examination.”

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“How long will the youth of this country tolerate this?” he asked. “After the NEET paper leak, more than 20 children committed suicide… But nothing changed.”

He also attacked the handling of the recent CBSE evaluation controversy, alleging that “they did not even file an FIR against the company responsible”.

Warning that public anger over examination irregularities could have political consequences, Kejriwal drew a parallel with the anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare at the same protest site in 2011.

“Today, while coming here, I remembered April 4, 2011, when Anna Hazare was sitting here,” he said. “The government of that time was also arrogant. Three years later, that government did not survive because of its arrogance.”

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Addressing the Centre, he said: “It is 2026. I want to tell these people, listen to the youth. Listen to the Cockroach movement. Listen to Sonam Wangchuk. Otherwise, after three years, you too will have the same regret that they [the previous government] had in 2014.”

Later, in a post on X, Kejriwal reiterated his demand, writing that “Sonam Wangchuk should be appointed as the country’s Education Minister by removing Dharmendra Pradhan”.

Opposition leaders from across the political spectrum visited Wangchuk over the past week, urging him to end the hunger strike.

However, in an interview with The Indian Express earlier this week, Wangchuk said that while the resignation of the Education Minister was necessary, it would be “merely the starting point”, and urged Parliament to take up examination reforms during the upcoming Monsoon Session.

Vidheesha Kuntamalla

Vidheesha Kuntamalla is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express, based in New Delhi. She is known for her investigative reporting on higher education policy, international student immigration, and academic freedom on university campuses. Her work consistently connects policy decisions with lived realities, foregrounding how administrative actions, political pressure, and global shifts affect students, faculty, and institutions. Professional Profile Core Beat: Vidheesha covers education in Delhi and nationally, reporting on major public institutions including the University of Delhi (DU), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia, the IITs, and the IIMs. She also reports extensively on private and government schools in the National Capital Region. Prior to joining The Indian Express, she worked as a freelance journalist in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for over a year, covering politics, rural issues, women-centric issues, and social justice. Specialisation: She has developed a strong niche in reporting on the Indian student diaspora, particularly the challenges faced by Indian students and H-1B holders in the United States. Her work examines how geopolitical shifts, immigration policy changes, and campus politics impact global education mobility. She has also reported widely on: * Mental health crises and student suicides at IITs * Policy responses to campus mental health * Academic freedom and institutional clampdowns at JNU, South Asian University (SAU), and Delhi University * Curriculum and syllabus changes under the National Education Policy Her recent reporting has included deeply reported human stories on policy changes during the Trump administration and their consequences for Indian students and researchers in the US. Reporting Style Vidheesha is recognised for a human-centric approach to policy reporting, combining investigative depth with intimate storytelling. Her work often highlights the anxieties of students and faculty navigating bureaucratic uncertainty, legal precarity, and institutional pressure. She regularly works with court records, internal documents, official data, and disciplinary frameworks to expose structural challenges to academic freedom. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2024 & 2025) 1. Express Investigation Series JNU’s fault lines move from campus to court: University fights students and faculty (November 2025) An Indian Express investigation found that since 2011, JNU has appeared in over 600 cases before the Delhi High Court, filed by the administration, faculty, staff, students, and contractual workers across the tenures of three Vice-Chancellors. JNU’s legal wars with students and faculty pile up under 3 V-Cs | Rs 30-lakh fines chill campus dissent (November 2025) The report traced how steep monetary penalties — now codified in the Chief Proctor’s Office Manual — are reshaping dissent and disciplinary action on campus. 2. International Education & Immigration ‘Free for a day. Then came ICE’: Acquitted after 43 years, Indian-origin man faces deportation — to a country he has never known (October 2025) H-1B $100,000 entry fee explained: Who pays, who’s exempt, and what’s still unclear? (September 2025) Khammam to Dallas, Jhansi to Seattle — audacious journeys in pursuit of the American dream after H-1B visa fee hike (September 2025) What a proposed 15% cap on foreign admissions in the US could mean for Indian students (October 2025) Anxiety on campus after Trump says visas of pro-Palestinian protesters will be cancelled (January 2025) ‘I couldn’t believe it’: F-1 status of some Indian students restored after US reverses abrupt visa terminations (April 2025) 3. Academic Freedom & Policy Exclusive: South Asian University fires professor for ‘inciting students’ during stipend protests (September 2025) Exclusive: Ministry seeks explanation from JNU V-C for skipping Centre’s meet, views absence ‘seriously’ (July 2025) SAU rows after Noam Chomsky mentions PM Modi, Lankan scholar resigns, PhD student exits SAU A series of five stories examining shrinking academic freedom at South Asian University after global scholar Noam Chomsky referenced Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an academic interaction, triggering administrative unease and renewed debate over political speech, surveillance, and institutional autonomy on Indian campuses. 4. Mental Health on Campuses In post-pandemic years, counselling rooms at IITs are busier than ever; IIT-wise data shows why (August 2025) Campus suicides: IIT-Delhi panel flags toxic competition, caste bias, burnout (April 2025) 5. Delhi Schools These Delhi government school grads are now success stories. Here’s what worked — and what didn’t (February 2025) ‘Ma’am… may I share something?’ Growing up online and alone, why Delhi’s teens are reaching out (December 2025) ... Read More

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