New Delhi: Anger among protesters at Jantar Mantar is palpable. After activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a hunger strike for the past 20 days, was “forcibly removed” from the protest site early Saturday morning and taken to Safdarjung Hospital in central Delhi for treatment, protesters are refusing to leave Jantar Mantar despite repeated requests by security personnel.
In fact, after his “removal”, nearly 1,000 protesters were still at the site.
Police personnel reached the protest site around 7 am, dispersed the protesters and took Wangchuk away amid allegations of a forceful evacuation. Some protesters also clashed with personnel from the Rapid Action Force (RAF), CRPF and Delhi Police as repeated announcements were made asking them to vacate the site.
In a statement, the Delhi Police said it had acted in accordance with the directions of the Delhi High Court and on the advice of medical experts due to Wangchuk’s deteriorating health.
Speaking to ThePrint, Ankur Saxena, a consultant with a private firm, said the government should not have “crossed the line” by removing Wangchuk.
“Today is the tipping point. This action by the government has made us more resolute. If Sonam Wangchuk, who is such an influential figure, can be suppressed and silenced, then where do we stand? This action has brought us even more together. This movement will not die down,” he said.
Voicing a similar sentiment was Birjender, 37, a consultant with an MNC: “It’s apathy, and it’s shocking to see such a lack of accountability and such high-handedness. This protest, and the government’s lack of response, has made us realise that if people like us do not come forward, these issues will simply die down,” he said.
He added that remaining a passive bystander was no longer an option. “The government has shot itself in the foot. It has riled up even those who were not active protesters,” he said.
“This removal of Wangchuk is sheer abuse of power and an act of high-handedness. Since the number of protesters was not in the thousands, the government probably thought it could crush the movement. Instead, it has energised even those who had no plans to come to Jantar Mantar,” he said.
For 79-year-old S.P. Singh, the ongoing stir at Jantar Mantar goes far beyond Wangchuk or Dipke and hence their removal would do little to deter the students and people protesting. “The government should come out of its illusion that Sonam’s removal or Dipke’s absence may affect the movement,” he said, looking at Dipke addressing a group of supporters.
“We’re always inclined to the issues and it’s not about leaders. These questions and demands for accountability will remain the same, irrespective of the size of the crowd,” Singh said, adding that police action “can deter people but won’t erase questions over accountability”.
Meanwhile, Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali Angmo, raised questions over the medical opinion of doctors at the Safdarjung Hospital, stating that the doctors told her that Wangchuk’s potassium level had dipped to 2.9—far below 4.3, as she claimed, reported Friday evening.
“There is no transparency, and they have not shared the medical report. They are showing us a medical report, but not sharing it with us,” she told reporters outside Safdarjung Hospital. She requested the hospital administration to discharge him from the hospital to allow them to admit him to a hospital of their choice.
‘Government’s move has backfired’
Soon after Wangchuk was taken away, personnel from the Rapid Action Force pulled down banners from the makeshift stage where the protest had been taking place and asked volunteers and supporters to vacate the premises. Despite repeated announcements, many protesters refused to leave. A human chain was formed around Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijit Dipke, who addressed the gathering and said the protest would continue.
CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, who joined the protesters, linked Wangchuk’s removal and hospitalisation to the change in leadership of the Delhi Police.
“Yesterday you suddenly replaced the Delhi Police Commissioner and appointed a new officer, and today you launch this action. This only confirms that the move was carried out with a specific purpose,” she said.
She added that the timing of the action was significant and had not gone unnoticed by supporters of the movement.
“They had already announced a major march on 20 July, when they would complete one month of protest. This action has been initiated only to avoid an embarrassing situation for the government because the Opposition would have raised the issue of these protesting students at Jantar Mantar,” she said.
“The issue will be raised anyway. The government’s move has backfired,” she told ThePrint.
Samajwadi Party Lok Sabha MP Pushpendra Saroj also blamed the government for Saturday’s action, saying it came as the movement was gaining political traction.
In recent days, several political leaders, including former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, SP MP Dimple Yadav and Congress leader Pawan Khera, visited Wangchuk, signalling growing political support for the movement.
“We understood that his health was deteriorating, and we advised him to call off the hunger strike and instead launch a campaign from the streets to Parliament,” Saroj told ThePrint at Jantar Mantar.
“However, he insisted on continuing the hunger strike at least until 20 July, when they had planned a major campaign,” he said.
Saroj also blamed Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Delhi Police for using force to remove Wangchuk from the protest site.
“This is nothing but an exhibition of brute strength. You removed him by deploying a large police force only because he was not surrounded by thousands of supporters,” he added.
“Imagine what the situation would have been had lakhs of people gathered here. The mass mobilisation that has not yet happened—because Wangchuk-ji wanted the protest to remain symbolic—will now happen on 20 July. The Samajwadi Party will be on the streets, standing shoulder to shoulder with the students,” he said.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: Delhi Police ‘shift’ Wangchuk to hospital, CJP’s Dipke alleges activist taken ‘by force’