Raj Thackeray criticises Centre over Sonam Wangchuk's fast, urges action on NEET concerns

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday criticised the BJPled Central government over educationist and climate activist Sonam Wangchuks ongoing fast expressing concern over his health and alleging that the Centre was ignoring a legitimate public movementWith Wangchuks indefinite hunger strike entering its 19th day Thackeray said the activists deteriorating condition was a matter of serious concern and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to interveneIn a post on X Thackeray said This is the 19th day of Sonam Wangchuks fast The reports we hear about his health or the visuals especially circulating on social media are certainly cause for deep concern It feels utterly awful to say that the government has decided to sacrifice Sonam Wangchukmdashand by extension a movement that represents a voice for this country When a government can watch silently as Shri Rams treasury is being looted what difference will citizens movements make to them hellip pictwittercomcOD5Z4KSaRmdash Raj Thackeray RajThackeray July 16 2026Alleges weakening of democratic institutionsThackeray also accused the Centre of weakening democratic institutions and claimed that public institutions had been brought under political influenceThe very institutions that should act impartially have been taken under their control Elections are being managed exactly as desired Enormous sums of money are being spent on this Yet most media outlets arent asking where that money is coming from On the contrary these same majority media outlets are busy on the instructions of their invisible bosses figuring out how to defame the ruling partys own people or the opposition And the media outlets that do speak out have a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads and their owners Thats why its so easy for the government to crush a movement raised for a legitimate cause and torment the body of the protesterRecalls BJPs past association with WangchukReferring to the BJPs earlier engagement with Sonam Wangchuk Thackeray said the activist had once been recognised by the party for his work on alternative energy and was invited to the ReInvest Conference in 2018Once upon a time the Bharatiya Janata Party held Sonam Wangchuk in high regard Of course one good thing about the BJP is that a person remains dear to them only as long as it suits their convenience In 2018 they invited Sonam Wangchuk to the ReInvest Conference listened to him on unconventional energy and such and even praised him Of course back then it was about showing how much importance we give to unconventional energy so they brought in Sonam Wangchuk Later when Ladakh was declared a Union Territory Wangchuk too appreciated the BJP But then Wangchuk realized their intentions were far from pure Ladakh should get the status of a full state there should be two Lok Sabha constituencies in Ladakh the rights of the local people over their land must be protectedmdashthese were the demands he raised for which he undertook fasts and protests but the government did nothing They reassured him and then no action followed Because the intentions they display are never truly what they seemRaises concerns over NEET and examination transparencyThackeray linked Wangchuks protest to concerns over examination reforms saying the activist was seeking action on alleged irregularities in the NEET examination process and greater transparency in competitive examsHe also referred to previous examination controversies including the Vyapam scam and alleged question paper leaks in recruitment and entrance examinationsToday Wangchuks demand is clear address the mess with the NEET exam and sack the minister responsible for it and bring transparency to these exams Theres nothing unreasonable in that During the BJPs time in power exam irregularities have happened everywhere From the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh to NEET question papers leaking right up to the recent leaks in teachers exam papers Why did all this happen under their watch and why do they act so brazenly afterward The answer is simple unlimited power with all the machinery firmly in their gripThackeray further alleged that the BJP had become increasingly intolerant of criticism after successive electoral victoriesThe success theyve dragged in through various maneuvers in electionsmdashthey want to parade it as a sign of the peoples silent consent and no one should dare question us Thats the new arrogance thats gripped the BJP these days And when I say BJP I mean it in the sense that their alliance partners have no independent existence theyre run straight from DelhiAppeal to Prime MinisterConcluding his remarks Thackeray appealed directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging the Centre to address the concerns raised by students and their families instead of treating the issue as a political disputeMy request to Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to please pay attention to this issue The NEET exam matter and the chaos around itmdashthis isnt some trivial thing The irregularities in this exam have ruined the lives of lakhs of students And its not like this just happened now such incidents have occurred before too And this isnt a political issue This is a social one Lakhs of students who took the NEET exam their parentsmdashtheyve gone through such agony such mental torment and this issue is tied to that And among them are supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party its officebearers its workersmdashall of whom have suffered too So viewing the movement through a political lens as the central government is doing is fundamentally a sign of their narrowmindedness