By Tanvi Mehta, Aditya Kalra and Anushree Fadnavis
NEW DELHI, July 24 (Reuters) - Indian activist Sonam Wangchuk ended a 26-day hunger strike on Friday over leaked medical school entrance exam papers that protesters say enabled cheating, but demonstrations demanding the education minister's resignation were set to continue in the biggest youth-led challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.
Youth protesters, led by the self-named Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement, demand that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resign over the leaks that affected some 2 million students in May and are linked to several student suicides.
Wangchuk said on X that he broke his fast in the presence of two federal ministers at the urging of scores of members of parliament and following "a long negotiation on various conditions and in view of possible violence in the country." He did not elaborate on the talks but promised to lay out details in a video soon.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke thanked Wangchuk, 59, for his "courage and sacrifice" and said the protests would continue until Pradhan resigns. "We won't let Sonam sir's sacrifice go in vain," he added in a video message.
Late on Tuesday, Pradhan, in his first comments since demands for his resignation were made, said that the government was committed to addressing concerns and reforming exams.
The protests represent the biggest youth challenge to Modi since he came to power in 2014. Opposition parties have echoed the youth movement's demands and have disrupted the monsoon session of parliament that began this week.
After Wangchuk ended his hunger strike, Modi urged the activist to follow doctors' advice and "regain weight lost" during his fast.
Protesters have called for nationwide demonstrations on Friday in solidarity with students who alleged police brutality during a march on parliament on Monday by tens of thousands of people, even as Modi's government urged them to join talks.
Thousands of people had returned to the Jantar Mantar protest site by Thursday afternoon, carrying anti-government posters and chanting slogans amid heavy security deployment. The protests have shut metro stations and mobile internet services and curtailed business in central Delhi.
Protests also have spread to other cities, including Ranchi, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram and Kolkata, local media reported.
RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED IN CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT
Authorities in Delhi shut down 16 metro rail stations on Thursday in and around the central parts of Delhi where the protesters have remained camped, inconveniencing thousands of commuters.
The government also ordered telecom firms to block mobile internet services in the area, sources told Reuters, a move that not only affected protesters but also stopped shops and restaurants from receiving digital payments by phone.
Separately, all offices and businesses in the Connaught Place area, the bustling central business district, were asked to shut early on Thursday by the New Delhi Traders Association, which cited an advisory from municipal authorities due to the security situation in the area.
The measures are widely seen by human rights groups as an attempt by authorities to curb protests and prevent any fresh outbreak of violence.
More than 10,000 people had gathered on Wednesday night at the Jantar Mantar protest site. Some protesters attacked police with stones and plastic bottles, injuring a few officers, news agency ANI quoted Delhi Police as saying.
In Monday's clashes during the march on parliament, police used tear gas and canes to push back the protesters.
PROTESTERS REJECT MODI'S SPECIAL COURTS PROPOSAL
Earlier on Thursday, Modi said that special courts would be set up to prosecute those behind exam paper leaks, his first public response to the crisis.
"Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth!" Modi posted on X.
But CJP rejected the proposal, saying what courts do after paper leaks is just one aspect of the problem.
"But Modi-ji, tell us why are paper leaks happening in this country in the first place?" CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said, using the Hindi honorific.
"Fast-track courts are set up in this country for every other issue, but whether those fast-track courts have actually solved those issues — you know the answer to that question, and so do we."
Later in the day, Modi said on social media that the government would announce more strict actions against paper leaks at a cabinet meeting on Friday.
Top Bollywood stars, including Salman Khan, Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor, supported the protesters via social media posts, saying it was heartening to see students come together to fight for a cause.
The CJP protests began as an online satire and involved only a few hundred young people when they were first launched.
The movement's surge in popularity reflects frustrations among young Indians over issues such as job shortages, as well as frequent exam leaks.
(Reporting by Tanvi Mehta, Shanima A, Sakshi Dayal, Hritam Mukherjee, Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Aditya Kalra, Munsif Vengattil, Saurabh Sharma, Aftab Ahmed, Anushree Fadnavis Rajesh Kr Singh and Gursimran Kaur; Writing by YP Rajesh; Editing by Michael Perry, Gareth Jones and Howard Goller)
