Delhi CM Atishi to meet Sonam Wangchuk, detained Ladakh protesters
Oct 01, 2024
New Delhi [India], October 1 : The Delhi Chief Minister Atishi is set to meet activist Sonam Wangchuk and the people from Ladakh who were detained by the police at the Singhu border last night.
Labelling the detention of the protesting individuals from Ladakh as "dictatorship," Delhi CM Atishi announced in a post on X that she will visit the Bawana police station at 1 PM today to meet with the protesters.
"Sonam Wangchuk and our 150 Ladakhi brothers and sisters were coming to Delhi peacefully. The police have stopped them. They have been imprisoned in Bawana police station since last night. Is it wrong for Ladakh to demand democratic rights? Is it wrong for satyagrahis to go to Gandhi Samadhi on 2 October? Stopping Sonam Wangchuk ji is dictatorship. I will go to Bawana police station to meet him today at 1 pm," Atishi wrote in a post on X.
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also criticized the detention of the protesters from Ladakh.
"Sometimes they stop farmers from coming to Delhi, sometimes they stop people from Ladakh. Is Delhi the property of one person? Delhi is the country's capital. Everyone has the right to come to Delhi. This is completely wrong. Why are they afraid of unarmed peaceful people?" Kejriwal wrote in a post on X.
Lashing out at the BJP over the detention of protesters, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, " "I don't know what PM Modi, Amit Shah and BJP are doing. They are not catching the gangsters as the BJP has given them full protection...But people like Sonam Wangchuk who raise the issues of the nation, if they want to do 'padyatra', why are they being treated as terrorists?
Echoing similar sentiments, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said, "People seek inspiration from people like Sonam Wangchuk as he has dedicated his entire life to the nation. If a person is coming to the national capital to raise some issues of Ladakh which is a sensitive area, it is very bad that the Central government have imposed a curfew in Delhi and said that more than five people can't gather in Delhi for the next days. Navratri, Ramleela will start in Delhi from 3rd Nov and they are saying that more than five people can't gather in Delhi. If Delhi LG has guts he should show how can he stop us?..."
In response to the detention of activist Sonam Wangchuk, Ladakh MP Haji Hanifa Jan expressed deep concern over the government's handling of the ongoing issues in the region.
He urged the government to facilitate a platform where they could submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Modi or engage in talks with leadership to resolve the issues.
"For the last three years, we have been raising our concerns in a very peaceful manner...several rounds of discussions were also held with the government...we hoped that the talks would continue after the formation of the new government but it did not happen...We set out on foot from Leh under the banner of Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) and Apex Body with the hope that we would present our views to the central government in the national capital and our concerns would be heard. But unfortunately, Sonam Wangchuk and his team were detained yesterday...We urge the government to provide us a place from where we can submit a memorandum to PM Modi or hold talks with the leadership to resolve this issue," Ladakh MP Haji Hanifa Jan said.
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and his supporters were detained by Delhi Police at the Singhu border on Monday night. Section 163 of the BNS has been imposed at Delhi borders, said Delhi Police.
Wangchuk and other volunteers were embarking on a foot march from Leh to New Delhi to urge the Centre to resume dialogue with Ladakh's leadership regarding their demands.
One of their key demands is for Ladakh to be included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, granting law-making powers to the local population to protect their land and cultural identity.
