Delhi CM Atishi barred from meeting climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, alleges political pressure

Chief Minister Atishi was denied permission on Tuesday to meet Ladakh-based climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was detained by the Delhi Police on September 30.

The activist was detained along with around 150 volunteers at the Singhu border on Monday night and taken to the Bawana, Narela and Alipur police stations.

Sharing the news of the incident, Atishi posted on X, “I reached the Bawana police station to meet Wangchuk and 150 brothers and sisters from Ladakh. The Delhi Police did not allow me to meet them. I have been told that the L-G called and instructed not to let me meet. This dictatorship is not right.”

“Wangchuk and the people of Ladakh are fighting against L-G rule, seeking full statehood for Ladakh. The people of Delhi stand with them. L-G rule should end in Ladakh, and it should end in Delhi too. Both Ladakh and Delhi should get full statehood,” she added.

The padyatra raised four demands: inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule, granting statehood to Ladakh, separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil and the formation of a Public Service Commission to create employment opportunities for locals.

Atishi further said, “The people of Ladakh want full statehood. They deserve democratic rights, and the government of Ladakh should be run based on the votes of its people. But the BJP is anti-democracy and anti-Constitution. Wangchuk and his companions were on their way to Bapu’s samadhi to mark Gandhi Jayanti yesterday but were arrested by the BJP-ruled Central Government.”

She added that she was confident her prevention from meeting Wangchuk was a direct result of political pressure.

“I am sure that because of the L-G’s phone call, the representative of the elected government, the Chief Minister of Delhi, was not allowed to meet Wangchuk. The BJP is afraid of the people’s voice, afraid of democracy,” she concluded.

Meanwhile, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal said on X, “Sometimes farmers are stopped from entering Delhi, while other times it’s the people of Ladakh. Is Delhi someone’s personal property? Delhi is the nation’s capital, and everyone has the right to come here. This is completely wrong. Why are they so afraid of unarmed, peaceful citizens?”

The detention comes amidst the growing tensions over the political status of Ladakh, which was stripped of its statehood and made a Union Territory in 2019 when the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was reorganised.

Former Deputy Chief Minister and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia also reacted to the detention, accusing the BJP-led Central Government of deliberately preventing Ladakhi citizens from exercising their democratic right to peaceful protest.

He added that Wangchuk, accompanied by social workers and Army veterans, had planned to visit Gandhi’s ‘samadhi’ at Rajghat on October 2 to peacefully discuss Ladakh’s current situation and their demand for restored statehood.

“The BJP has made a formula to slowly take over a state and make it into a UT. Wangchuk was raising a voice against it. Is Wangchuk a terrorist? Why does the Central Government want to stop these citizens from entering Delhi?” he questioned.

‘People of Delhi stand with Sonam Wangchuk’

Sonam Wangchuk and the people of Ladakh are fighting against L-G rule, seeking full statehood for Ladakh. The people of Delhi stand with them. L-G rule should end in Ladakh, and it should end in Delhi too. Both Ladakh and Delhi should get full statehood. — Atishi, CM