NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday attacked the government over the “removal” of activist Sonam Wangchuk from the Jantar Mantar protest, with Rahul Gandhi saying the core tenets of the Narendra Modi dispensation are “asatya and hinsa (falsehood and violence)”.
Attacking the BJP, the opposition party also said it was a shame that the world’s largest democracy was being “ruled” by the most undemocratic and anti-democratic political party in the world.
In a post in Hindi on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Be it Professor G.D. Agarwal, who sat on a fast-unto-death for 111 days to save Mother Ganga, or the Olympic wrestlers from Haryana; Be it our 750 farmers who feed the nation, Dalits and Adivasis, or the 25 youths and their families who fell victim to exam paper leaks; this authoritarian government has spared no one.”
In their eyes, anyone who raises their voice is branded “anti-national” or a “parasite”, Kharge said, slamming the BJP-led government.
“What transpired at Jantar Mantar today is yet another blot on our democracy and Constitution,” the Congress chief said.
The “Chhatron ki Goonj (voice of the students)” has begun to resonate from Kota and Dehradun, and it will certainly reach the very doorstep of Delhi, he said.
Gandhi said the “removal” of Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar while he was on a non-violent hunger strike is “wrong” and alleged that the core tenets of the government are “Asatya and Hinsa (falsehood and violence)”.
In a post on X, he said, “The removal of Sonam Wangchuk ji from Jantar Mantar while he was on a non-violent hunger strike is wrong.”
Paper leaks, the rising cost of education, and student suicides are critical issues for India’s future, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
No amount of force can deter India’s students, and those of us who love and believe in them, from raising these issues, he said.
Congress’ media and publicity department head, Pawan Khera, said the Constitution guarantees the right to dissent, but the home ministry appears determined to deny it.
“The Delhi Police reports directly to the home ministry, the very ministry that appointed a new police commissioner in Delhi just yesterday. If today’s crackdown is his first brief, it sends a chilling message: political obedience takes precedence over Constitutional duty,” Khera said.
From dragging away women wrestlers to manhandling ex-servicemen, this government has repeatedly demonstrated its contempt for the Constitution, he alleged.
“Today’s actions lay bare this government’s mindset: peaceful protest is not a fundamental democratic right to be protected, but a law-and-order problem to be crushed,” Khera said.
“It is a shame that the world’s largest democracy is being ‘ruled’ by the most undemocratic and anti-democratic political party in the world,” he said.
His remarks came after Wangchuk was forcibly taken away to the Safdarjung Hospital early Saturday as his health deteriorated on the 21st day of his indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar, with the police citing medical advice and directions of the Delhi High Court.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Sachin Sharma told PTI that Wangchuk was hospitalised in accordance with the Delhi High Court’s directions after his health worsened and is receiving the required medical intervention.
In a statement, the Delhi Police said Wangchuk was “shifted for essential medical care” following expert medical advice and in compliance with the high court’s orders.
Some protesters tried to obstruct the exercise, leading to a brief commotion, but police personnel exercised maximum restraint and completed the operation successfully, it added.
The police also appealed to the protesters to end their agitation, saying they should peacefully vacate the protest site at the earliest.
Soon after the police action, Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijit Dipke alleged that the protesters were subjected to a police crackdown.
“I have been beaten up and put under detention by Delhi Police,” Dipke said in a post on X.
The CJP has been holding a protest for over 25 days demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination.
Wangchuk joined the agitation on June 28 and has been on an indefinite fast since then.
The Congress had already urged Wangchuk to end his hunger fast and said they were concerned about his health.
PTI