Wangchuk, others continue indefinite hunger strike at Delhi’s Ladakh Bhawan

NEW DELHI: Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk on Tuesday continued his indefinite hunger strike at Delhi’s Ladakh Bhawan along with his supporters and appealed that the Centre should resume talks on their demands.

Wangchuk, who is spearheading an agitation for Ladakh’s Sixth Schedule status, had started his fast on Sunday afternoon.

According to the protesters, they have not been approached by any government representative so far.

“This is the third day of the fast… We still hope our leaders will give us time. Even now we are 25 people sitting on hunger strike,” Wangchuk told PTI.

“We hope the talks with Apex Body (Leh) and KDA (Kargil Democratic Alliance) will be resumed, this is our request,” he said.

Wangchuk said the people of Ladakh have worked for India’s security without a uniform or a salary.

“Such treatment to people who have come from the border area is not in the national interest. Whenever India is in trouble, faces a war, these are the people who work with the Army without uniform or salary. They would feel when it was time to help us, we were not even heard,” he said.

“We hope the BJP leaders will also come here… We received a message from senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi as well,” he added.

Wangchuk, along with others from Ladakh, has been sitting close to the gate of Ladakh Bhawan.

Mehdi, one of the activists who is sitting on fast with Wangchuk, said that a medical tests of the protesters was done on Tuesday morning and many had low blood pressure.

“We are sitting here in 40 degrees (Celsius)… It is the third day, we have been sleeping here in the open,” Mehdi told PTI.

“There are old people sitting here as well, some have diabetes, blood pressure issues. But we are not going to leave until our demand is met,” he said.

Liyaqat, who is also participating in the hunger strike, said the people from Ladakh are not being allowed inside to meet them.

“People from Ladakh are not being allowed to come inside Ladakh Bhawan. This morning, some students had come to meet Sonam Wangchuk, but they were not allowed inside,” Liyaqat said.

“It is very sad that this is happening in a democracy, we are not allowed to express our pain,” he added.

Wangchuk and his supporters marched to Delhi from Leh to press their demand and were detained at the capital’s Singhu border on September 30.

The ‘Delhi Chalo Padyatra’ is being spearheaded by the Leh Apex Body (LAB). The protesters were released by the Delhi Police on the night of October 2.

However, Wangchuk told PTI in an interview earlier that he was kept in a “virtual detention” at the Ladakh Bhawan even after being released and they decided to sit there since they were not being allowed permission to sit on protest at the Jantar Mantar.

The group is demanding a meeting with top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to raise their concerns over the issue of including Ladakh in the sixth schedule of the Constitution.

The sixth schedule of the Constitution includes provisions for the administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram in northeast India. It establishes autonomous councils that have legislative, judicial, executive and financial powers to independently govern these areas.

Besides the inclusion of Ladakh under the sixth schedule, the protesters are demanding statehood, a public service commission for Ladakh and separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts. (PTI)