New Delhi: Activist Sonam Wangchuk who had been on a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar and was forcibly removed from the site on Saturday morning, has shared
a handwritten note from his hospital bed in Safdarjung, in which he described the entire act of him getting moved to the medical facility as an “illegal detention.” He told the people and protestors that his hunger strike was still on and then urged them to make the planned march to Parliament a “big success.”
Meanwhile, his wife Geetanjali J Angmo has said that she will lead the protest march to Parliament on Monday in the absence of her husband. The Monsoon Session of Parliament begins on Monday and the CJP and activist Wangchuk had vowed to lead the protest to Parliament, demanding accountability on the NEET-UG paper leak. However, as Wangchuk remains hospitalised and frail and week, after almost 3 weeks of fasting, the march will now be led by his wife.
In the note shared from his hospital bed, Wangchuk described the planned march as “India’s second freedom movement. He called for “freedom from injustice, (like paper leaks)” and “freedom from fear (my illegal detention).”
He claimed that he sent the handwritten note through his wife, Gitanjali.
Wangchuk has been a teacher and is closely involved with the education system, especially in Ladakh. This is not the first time that he sat on a hunger strike. Earlier too he fasted for issues related to Ladakh and the rights of the people there.
The reason for his latest fast unto death is the recent paper leak of the NEET-UG examination. He joined the CJP protest on June 28 and started a fast unto death, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. He wanted the government to also take up the problems faced by the students.
On July 18, the 21st day of his hunger strike, the Delhi Police forcibly removed him from the protest site at Jantar Mantar. He was put in an ambulance and moved to Safdarjung Hospital. The police said that the action was based on an order of the Delhi High Court. However, Gitanjali, wife of Wangchuk has contested the claim, saying that the High Court had just ordered regular monitoring of his health.
She has now demanded that her husband be shifted to a private hospital, alleging that Safdarjung has not maintained transparency in the treatment of Wangchuk.
