Leh: The Congress unit in Leh, Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, has said that no amount of “vilification campaign and trumped-up charges” against climate activist Sonam Wangchuk will hold true in the eyes of the local population.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Sonam Wangchuk was detained yesterday and was lodged in Jodhpur jail in Rajasthan, two days after protesters demanding statehood and extension of Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh turned violent and indulged in widespread violence.
Ladakh Congress President Nawang Rigzin Jora in a statement said the authorities are terribly mistaken if they believe arresting Wangchuk would help restore peace and harmony in the region.
He said Congress party strongly condemns the unwarranted arrest of the renowned activist as his only fault was that he held the Bharatiya Janata Party accountable for its election promise to include Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.”
“He was also instrumental in articulating the other demands of Leh Apex Body-Kargil Democratic Alliance combine vis-a-vis grant of statehood, separate parliamentary seats for Leh and Kargil and recruitment in government jobs, given the second-highest rate of unemployment at the graduate level in Ladakh as per GOI statistics,” he added.
“It is unfortunate that the authorities used all possible harassment tools against him and his institutions, HIAL and SECMOL, including the Enforcement Directorate, CBI, etc. He did not budge; instead, he carried out a 35-day-long fast along with his supporters under the aegis of LAB,” the statement said.
The Congress said Wangchuk called off his fast on September 24 when the youth mobilised by LAB youth wing and the youths of various religious organisations ran amok against administrations “high handedness and brutalities”, leading to four deaths and grave injuries to few dozen people.