Wangchuk, activists to go on hunger strike
Ladakh-based climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who along with around 150 volunteers was detained near the Delhi border, announced today that he and other activists would begin an indefinite hunger strike at the police stations where they had been kept.
Editorial: Wary of Wangchuk
High drama was witnessed late on Monday when Wangchuk and 150 volunteers were detained at the Singhu border amid heavy police deployment. Wangchuk was leading a march, ‘Delhi Chalo Padyatra’, which began from Leh a month ago.
They were planning to reach the Raj Ghat to peacefully protest over their various demands, including statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
After their detention, Wangchuk and activists were taken to different police stations at Bawana, Narela and Alipur. On Tuesday morning, Ladakh Lok Sabha MP Haji Haneefa Jan and 120 volunteers, who had followed Wangchuk to Delhi, were also detained by the police at the Singhu border. Delhi CM Atishi was on Tuesday not allowed to meet Wangchuk at the Bawana police station.
“They did not let me meet Wangchuk. This is dictatorship of the BJP. We fully support him. The L-G rule in Ladakh should end... Ladakh and Delhi should get the status of full states,” she told mediapersons outside the police station.
Addressing a press conference, Dorje Tsering Lakruk, head of Leh Apex Body, and Ashraf Barcha, president of Anjuman Imamia, Leh, termed the police action condemnable and unlawful.
They said, “This situation has caused deep anguish and unrest within the Ladakhi community. We wanted to hold a peaceful protest at the Raj Ghat. The detention is illegal and unlawful.”
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court will hear multiple petitions on October 3, challenging the action of the Delhi Police. A habeas corpus petition was filed on behalf of Wangchuk and was mentioned before the Bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela.
The court agreed to list the petition for hearing on October 3, provided all procedural formalities were met by 3.30 PM. Meanwhile, the Congress has protested the detention of Wangchuk and his associates. “The detention of Wangchuk and hundreds of Ladakhis who were peacefully marching for environmental and constitutional rights is unacceptable,” Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, posted on X. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge described the step as a “cowardly action”.
