Wife tried hard to get Rahul Gandhi to end fast, got no positive response: Wangchuk

Published 5 August 2026 · politics

Environmentalist and education activist Sonam Wangchuk has revealed that his wife, Geetanjali Angmo, tried hard to get Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to help

Environmentalist and education activist Sonam Wangchuk has revealed that his wife, Geetanjali Angmo, tried hard to get Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to help end his 26-day hunger strike, but received no positive response. "Actually, we were pondering on breaking my fast through Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, and Geetanjali was working on that. She was not against Rahul. She was working hard to see if Rahul Gandhi could break my fast. She didn't get a positive response," Wangchuk told India Today in his first interview since ending the fast. Read Full Story Wangchuk said this context was important because his wife later faced criticism over remarks she made about the Congress leadership. He also spoke about what happened behind the scenes before he ended his fast in the presence of Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh, pushing back against allegations that he had struck a "midnight deal" with the government.

WANTED OPPOSITION, STUDENTS PRESENT Wangchuk said he had initially wanted leaders from both the ruling party and the Opposition, along with student representatives, to be present when he ended his hunger strike. As the Union ministers arrived after midnight, Wangchuk said he proposed that photographs with leaders from different political parties be released together only after he had formally announced the end of his fast. "I said the news will be broken on my terms, with pictures of Opposition leaders... Nobody will release any images till I break the news," Wangchuk said, adding that senior Intelligence Bureau officials were witnesses to the understanding. 'THEY BROKE THE PROMISE' Wangchuk alleged that photographs of his meeting with the Union ministers were released before the agreed time despite an assurance that they would be held back.

"I was expecting to collect photographs of leaders from other parties. Within minutes, an IB officer came and told me the images were already running on television channels. They had pledged to me they wouldn't release them. They broke the promise," he said. The activist said the episode left him disappointed with political leaders across party lines. "I've lost trust in all these leaders," Wangchuk said. REJECTS ALLEGATIONS OF A DEAL Rejecting suggestions that he had reached an understanding with the government, Wangchuk said he could have struck a deal much earlier if that had been his intention. "I could have made much bigger deals. I could have said, make me the education minister. I could have made any deal. If I wanted to make deals, I need not have sat on a 26-day hunger strike," he said.