Chennai, Sep 3 (PTI) Congress leader Sasikanth Senthil has temporarily ended his indefinite hunger strike after four days, following appeals from senior political leaders.
He said the protest has brought the seriousness of the issue to public attention.
The Tiruvallur MP decided to call off the strike following appeals from a host of political figures, including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who cited his health as a concern.
Leaders from the INDIA Alliance and other parties also urged him to end the fast.
Senthil began his fast on August 29, demanding that the Centre release funds under the ‘Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan’ scheme, which he claimed have been pending for more than two years.
After his health deteriorated on the second day of the protest, Senthil was referred to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai from the Tiruvallur Government Hospital.
“I have decided to temporarily withdraw my hunger strike, accepting the appeal of our leaders, which I had undertaken to protect the educational rights of poor and simple students,” he said.
Following his decision to call off the fast, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President Selvaperunthagai offered him a juice at the hospital to officially end the strike in the presence of senior party colleagues.
Senthil said he would continue the protest at the next level to reach students and parents.
In a press release, he charged the BJP government with “destroying” the educational rights and dreams of Tamil Nadu’s students and said his strike was to “expose the injustice.” He said his struggle has become a subject of public discussion and earned wide support. “It is deeply disappointing that the union government refuses to listen to the rightful demands raised for the Tamil Nadu people.” He called for the people of Tamil Nadu to “resist and fight the BJP” to protect their rights.
Noting that his party has a long history of struggles, he said, “As a Congress worker, I undertook this hunger strike in line with that ideology.
Yet, the struggle ahead of us is long and arduous. We must unite and fight strongly from many fronts.” Given his health condition, Senthil said leaders from the INDIA bloc as well as friends from various parties insisted he end his hunger strike.
“This struggle has given me the opportunity to bring the gravity of this issue to the attention of the people. To carry forward the long battle for students’ educational rigthts with even greater vigour, I am temporarily ending my hunger strike, respecting the appeals of everyone, ” he added.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
