The Cockroach Janta Party's protest at Jantar Mantar — already extraordinary for the heat, the hunger strike, and the growing political storm around it — faced a new and viscerally affecting challenge this week, as Delhi's monsoon arrived with full force and turned the protest site into a waterlogged expanse of ankle-deep muddy water.

Viral videos circulating on X and Instagram show hundreds of students — many of whom have been sleeping on the stone floor of Jantar Mantar for days — sitting in floodwater, their blankets soaked, their banners and placards drooping with rain. In one widely-shared clip, a group of young women can be seen holding their phones above their heads to keep them dry while sitting in water that reaches their calves. In another, a row of students continues to chant "Pradhan go back" in the pouring rain, completely drenched.

At the centre of it all, under a modest tarpaulin that was visibly struggling against the downpour, Sonam Wangchuk — on day 18 of his hunger strike — continued his fast. CJP volunteers worked to keep the area around his cot as dry as possible, but the images that circulated online were striking: a man already weakened by 18 days without food, in the rain, surrounded by students refusing to leave.

Dipke's Appeal: "Just Let Us Put Up a Plastic Sheet"

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke responded to the flooding with a raw, emotional video appeal posted directly to CJP's Instagram account.

"I am not asking for a five-star hotel. I am not asking for air-conditioning. I am asking for permission to put up a basic plastic tent — a tarpaulin — so that hundreds of students who are sitting in floodwater can have some shelter," Dipke said, visibly frustrated. "These students have been here for weeks. They have come from Bihar, Rajasthan, UP, Maharashtra. They have left their homes, their families, their coaching centres. And right now they are sitting in ankle-deep water because Delhi Police won't give us permission for a basic temporary shelter."

Dipke addressed the Delhi Police Commissioner directly: "Sir, I am requesting with folded hands. These are India's students. They are not criminals. They are not terrorists. They are children who want a fair exam system. Please — just let us put up a plastic sheet."

The video was viewed over 12 million times within 24 hours.

The Permission Problem

CJP's request for temporary shelter structures at Jantar Mantar has reportedly been pending with Delhi Police for several days. Under the rules governing protest sites at Jantar Mantar, any semi-permanent or temporary structure requires prior police permission — a regulation that protest organisers across party lines have long complained is inconsistently enforced.

CJP volunteers said they had submitted a formal written application for permission to erect temporary plastic sheeting as monsoon protection. As of Wednesday morning, the application had not been approved.

Delhi Police, when contacted by journalists, issued a statement saying the matter was "under review" and that the safety and welfare of all participants at the protest site was being monitored.

"We Are Not Leaving"

The monsoon flooding did not thin the protest. If anything, the images of students sitting in floodwater, still chanting, still holding their flags, generated a new wave of emotional responses online — and a fresh surge of people heading to Jantar Mantar.

"I saw the videos this morning. I packed a bag and I came," said one student from Noida who arrived at the site on Wednesday afternoon. "If they can sit in floodwater for my future, I can come and sit with them."

Priya Sharma, a second-year undergraduate from Jaipur who has been at the site for six days, posted on X: "Our blankets are wet. Our food got soaked. Our phones are wrapped in plastic bags. We are still here. Because the government is still silent. #MainBhiCockroach"

The post was reshared over 400,000 times.

Still Standing in the Rain The CJP protest at Jantar Mantar continued through Delhi's monsoon flooding, with hundreds of students refusing to leave even as the site was ankle-deep in water. Dipke's appeal for tents went viral with over 12 million views.

Wangchuk's Condition Amid the Rain

The monsoon adds a critical new dimension to Wangchuk's already dangerous medical situation. A person who has been fasting for 18 days, with depleted body reserves, faces significantly heightened risk from exposure to rain, cold, and damp conditions — including hypothermia, respiratory infection, and further drops in blood pressure and blood sugar.

CJP's medical team confirmed that Wangchuk had been kept as dry as possible, that his body temperature was being monitored, and that he had been urged again — and again declined — to end his fast.

"The rain doesn't change my position," Wangchuk reportedly said. "The government's silence doesn't change my position. Until there is a real conversation, I stay."

The Political Impact of the Images

Political strategists across party lines noted that the images of students sitting in floodwater — and of Wangchuk fasting in the monsoon — were the most powerful visual content the CJP movement had yet produced.

"A picture of a student sitting in ankle-deep water holding a 'Pradhan must resign' sign — that is a political weapon," said one INDIA bloc communications strategist. "The government cannot answer that image with a press statement."

BJP did not issue any public comment on the flooding or on Dipke's appeal for shelter permission.