Wangchuk’s detention grave injustice: J-K deputy CM

Jammu, Sep 27 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary on Saturday said the detention of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk is grave injustice and a joke with democracy.

Wangchuk was detained under the National Security Act (NSA) on Friday and lodged in Jodhpur jail in Rajasthan, two days after protests for statehood to Ladakh turned violent killing four people and injuring 90 others.

“He (Wangchuk) was speaking about global warming and public issues and sending him to Jodhpur jail in Rajasthan without a fault is injustice and a joke with democracy,” Choudhary told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

He said the authorities should have arrested those who indulged in arson. “What was his fault? Today is a situation where even a son is not listening to his father so how come people of Ladakh will follow him.” The deputy chief minister said the people like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev and Mahatma Gandhi who sacrificed their lives for freedom and democracy might be weeping on finding “gentlemen being jailed in fabricated cases and then sending them in jails far away from their families so that they cannot meet each other”.

Meanwhile, J&K Congress working president Raman Bhalla hit out at the BJP for its “total failure” to deal with the situation in Leh and accused the Centre of pushing the people of Ladakh to the wall by ignoring their peaceful struggle in support of their demands for the last five years.

“The violence was the result of utter failure of the Centre to hold meaningful and result oriented dialogue with the peaceful agitators for five years on the promises made to them by the BJP,” Bhalla, flanked by other senior leaders, told reporters here.

“The BJP stands exposed for its lies and betrayals, as the promises made to the Ladakhis were not fulfilled. The Congress supports the legitimate demands of people of Ladakh and appeals for peace and normalcy,” he said.

The Congress condemned the killing of four youth on Wednesday’s violence and supported the demand for a judicial probe for justice.

“We appeal to the people of Ladakh to continue to follow Gandhian mode for the fulfilment of their legitimate demands,” Bhalla said.

The Congress leader said the Centre should learn a lesson from Ladakh and fulfil the repeated promises made to the people of J&K about restoration of statehood without any further delay. PTI TAS TAS KVK KVK