Sonam Wangchuk's wife Angmo on Sunday slammed the central government for accusing the jailed activists of having links with Pakistan and also refuted the charges that his NGO received donations without Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) clearance. Talking about their recent visit to Pakistan Angmo said it was purely 'professional and climate-focused'.
Speaking to news agency PTI, Angmo said they attended the 'Breathe Pakistan' conference, organised by United Nations Pakistan and Dawn Media, in the neighbouring country in February, where her husband only praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"We attended a conference organised by the United Nations, and it was on climate change. The glacier on the top of the Himalayas is not going to see whether I'm flowing into Pakistan or India," she said. "There are organisations like the ICIMOD, which bring together all the eight Hindu Kush countries and work on different issues. We are part of the ICIMOD’s Himalayan University Consortium."
"The Nepal and Bangladesh reference being bandied around is actually an example Sonam gave, i.e., ‘when governments are not responsive, it leads to a revolution’. We should avoid the interpretations," she said, while questioning the Centre for slapping the stringent National Security Act (NSA) on the activist.
'Protesting in most Gandhian way possible'
Angmo also dismissed government's claims that Wangchuk incited violence, saying he was protesting in the "most Gandhian way possible". She pointed out that the "situation escalated" on September 24 because of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
In her interview with PTI, she said they have videos showing that the students and the youth were protesting peacefully, but retaliated only after the CRPF personnel fired tear gas shells, leading to an escalation in the situation. She also questioned the logic behind the alleged attempt to portray Wangchuk as an anti-national.
"He just said that ‘when change has to happen, it can start with one individual, or with the death of one individual and that individual could be me; I'm happy to give my life for it’," she said. "How can you portray a person as anti-national who has been talking about making shelters for the Indian Army, and boycotting Chinese goods?"
September 24 violence and Wangchuk's arrest
Violence erupted in Leh on September 24, with a group of protesters clashed with security personnel. The protesters were demanding statehood for Ladakh and the union territory's inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. The clashes led to the death of four people, while several others were left injured.
Following the violence, Wangchuk was arrested, with Ladakh DGP S D Singh Jamwal saying the activist's alleged links with Pakistan are being probed.
