Congress's protest near PM's house insincere: Big remark by Wangchuk's wife
The Congress's flash protest near Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence, in which Rahul Gandhi and several top leaders were detained, has come in for criticism
The Congress's flash protest near Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence, in which Rahul Gandhi and several top leaders were detained, has come in for criticism from none other than the wife of activist Sonam Wangchuk. Gitanjali Angmo, who has been leading Wangchuk's fight against paper leaks amid the activist's hunger strike, said the Congress's July 21 protest was "insincere" and the leaders should have joined the students at Jantar Mantar instead. Read Full Story In an interview with India Today, Angmo suggested that the politicians were now "exploiting" Wangchuk and his "reputation", but the public cannot be fooled anymore. Wangchuk, who was removed from the Jantar Mantar protest site last week, has continued his hunger strike from the hospital. His fast entered Day 26 on Thursday. "The protest outside the Prime Minister's residence lacked sincerity. The public cannot be fooled anymore.
This is an awakened India. Those who are insincere will be thrown out by the youth," Angmo, a social entrepreneur and educationist, said. Her remarks come two days after Rahul and senior Congress leaders staged an unprecedented sit-in near PM Modi's 7,Lok Kalyan Marg, residence over the crackdown on student protesters during their Parliament march. Dramatic scenes played out on Tuesday as Rahul was lifted and dragged from the protest site before being detained. He suffered a nose bleed in the melee. By taking the protest to the Prime Minister's doorstep, the Congress attempted to shift the narrative from administrative failure to hold the political class accountable. This is perhaps what Angmo might be indicating with her remarks, with the movement becoming largely organic devoid of any political or opposition backing. MOVEMENT APOLITICAL, SAYS GITANJALI ANGMO Angmo underlined that the student protests, driven by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), had sent a clear message to the political class that symbolic steps or gestures would no longer suffice.
"The movement has shown every political leader that they have to walk the talk. They cannot gaslight anymore or be insincere anymore," she said. A Chevening scholar from Oxford University, Angmo asserted the movement was not aligned with any political camp. "For us, there is no opposition, there is no government. For us, Parliament is the highest institution. We want Parliament to look at education as the fundamental issue," she said. However, Angmo said those coming without political motives were welcome to join the protest. "Whoever comes with their own agendas will fall by the wayside because this movement is born out of sincerity and purity," she said. SONAM WANGCHUK'S NEW DEMANDS Angmo has been a constant presence by Wangchuk's side ever since he was removed from the Jantar Mantar protest site on July 18. The Ladakhi activist was initially shifted to the government-run Safdarjung Hospital.
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