New Delhi: Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who along with his supporters continued his indefinite hunger strike for the ninth day on Monday, hoped that the newly-elected government in Jammu and Kashmir will work in harmony with the Lieutenant Governor, and not allow the situation to become like Delhi.
Wangchuk, who has been sitting on fast since October 6 seeking a meeting with the top leadership to press for the demand to include Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, also hoped that statehood for Jammu and Kashmir will be restored soon even as he claimed that Ladakh did not have anything to do with J&K.
Asked about J&K set to get an elected government with the National Conference-Congress alliance winning the Assembly elections held recently after a gap of 10 years, Wangchuk said, “I hope both sides play an honest game otherwise J&K, which is now an Union Territory with a legislature, will become like Delhi with constant to and fro between the lieutenant governor and the chief minister.”
“I just hope there is a cordial way to manage Jammu and Kashmir. I also believe that J&K deserves to be reinstated as a full-fledged state. However, Ladakh is a separate UT which has very little to do with J&K,” he added.
On their continuing hunger strike at the Ladakh Bhawan, the Ramon Magsaysay awardee climate activist said while the government has not approached them yet, they are in no hurry.
“We are not in a hurry, and we are not restless. We are giving pain to ourselves, not to anyone else. As long as we do not curtail the freedom of others, we should be left alone. When time comes for a critical period in our fasting, I am sure the nation will speak up,” he said.
On Monday, Wangchuk donned a “safa”, a traditional headgear gifted to him by a group from Rajasthan.
Claiming that people from all religious groups are coming to meet him, Wangchuk said, “This is perhaps what is called unity in diversity, which is the beauty of our democracy.”
He also raised concern over Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) that prohibits unauthorised gatherings being in force permanently in the New Delhi area.
“I hope someday Delhi will be truly free, and everybody will enjoy freedom of speech. On Monday, I was shocked to see people sitting with us on a ‘maun vrat’ on ‘ekadashi’ being forcefully detained. Section 163, which is meant for very serious occasions when there is a fear of violence, was applied to fasting people,” he said.
Wangchuk and his supporters who marched to Delhi from Leh were detained by Delhi Police at the Singhu border on September 30 before being released on October 2.
The group is demanding a meeting with the top leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to press for their demands.
The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution includes provisions for the administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram in northeast India. It also establishes autonomous councils that have legislative, judicial, executive and financial powers to independently govern these areas.
The march to Delhi was organised by the Leh Apex Body which along with the Kargil Democratic Alliance has been spearheading an agitation for the last four years seeking statehood for Ladakh, its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, a public service commission for Ladakh, and separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts.
