"Dictatorship at its peak": Arvind Kejriwal on reports of Sonam Wangchuk's arrest

New Delhi [India], September 26 (ANI): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Friday reacted to reports of police arresting Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk, two days after violence broke out during protests in Leh.

Expressing concerns, Kejriwal criticised the Central government’s handling of the situation, calling its actions “oppressive and dictatorial.”

Drawing parallels with mythological and historical figures, he posted on X, “Ravana’s end also came. Kansa’s end also came. Hitler’s and Mussolini’s end also came. And today, people hate all those individuals. Today in our country, dictatorship is at its peak. The end of those who practice dictatorship and arrogance is very bad.”

Former Delhi Minister and AAP leader, Saurabh Bharadwaj, also launched an attack on the ruling BJP over reports of Sonam Wangchuk’s arrest, claiming that the arrest of Sonam Wangchuk shows that the “end of the BJP’s central government is approaching.”

He further alleged that the BJP government sees every movement as the “doom” of their power and hence is taking such actions.

“Fear is good. The arrest of Sonam Wangchuk shows that the BJP’s central government is seeing its end approaching. Just as Kansa was seeing his end, hearing it, and out of fear, considered every child of Devaki as his doom. Similarly, today the BJP government sees every movement as the doom of their power. This fear is visible on their social media handles. This fear is good,” Bharadwaj posted on X.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir accused the Centre of “mishandling” the situation while denying his party’s role in the September 24 violence in Leh. He demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident.

“I just got to know that he (Sonam Wangchuk) has been arrested. He is a respectable man who has dedicated himself to the cause of Ladakh. This is an unwanted step. The people of Ladakh have always been known for their peace-loving nature. A group of activists has been protesting for the last 6 years. Among these activists, two fell severely ill. Looking at this, the youth got agitated…The government has shared a photo showing a Congress councillor allegedly instigating people. The Congress councillor has challenged it, saying that it was not him. No Congress worker had any involvement in this violence. The local Congress unit has demanded a judicial inquiry into the whole incident. It is wrong to blame Congress. The govt there mishandled the whole incident,” Mir said.

A demonstration demanding statehood for Ladakh and inclusion of the Union Territory under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution had turned violent and targeted the BJP office in Leh on Wednesday, September 24.

Prohibitions under Section 163 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNS), 2023, continued to be imposed in Leh on Friday, with a ban on the assembly of five or more persons in the district.

Earlier, Wangchuk had said on Thursday that “he would be happy to be arrested” because it would make people aware of the issue. “After violence, all the blame was put on Sonam Wangchuk. I also got information that a case under the Public Safety Act is being prepared against me, which would allow them to jail me for up to two years without trial or bail… I would be happy to be arrested anytime because it will make people more aware, rather than me being outside the jail. People will see that the man who brought pride to the country is in jail and will understand how the country is governed. Perhaps, this will be the last series of my service to the country,” Wangchuk had told ANI.

Earlier today, the Apex Body Leh (ABL), which is leading the agitation for statehood for Ladakh, stated that their protest is peaceful and that the violence on September 24 was triggered when a section of the youth got out of control.

Addressing a press conference here, the Apex Body denied activist Sonam Wangchuk’s role in the violence in Leh during his ongoing hunger strike.

In the statement, a member of the Apex Body Leh said, “Our movement will be peaceful and nonviolent to disseminate this, we started prayers of all the religions. When Sonam Wangchuk started the Hunger Strike, a few people were there. We used to call people from villages. We called for a Leh Bandh on September 24.”

“Before that, on September 23, two people who were in the protest were admitted to the hospital. Getting to know this, a huge mob of youth came to the hospital. On the day of the bandh, more people than we expected poured in at the site of the strike. A large part of the people were youth that day,” he said. (ANI)

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