'I will represent him': Sonam Wangchuk's wife Gitanjali Angmo to lead tomorrow's protest

Activist Sonam Wangchuk's wife, Gitanjali Angmo, on Sunday said she would lead tomorrow's protest to Parliament in his place, adding that the activist remains committed to continuing his indefinite hunger strike as he had been observing it previously.

Her announcement came after the Delhi High Court refused to grant interim relief on Angmo's plea seeking Wangchuk's transfer from Safdarjung Hospital to a private hospital.

"I will definitely represent him (in tomorrow's protest). We filed an urgent petition today because, had we been allowed to shift today, we could have gone to Medanta and then arrived at the protest site by tomorrow morning. But we knew they wouldn't allow that. I am ready to represent Sonam Wangchuk, and I will definitely join the march tomorrow, she told reporters.


"To all the students and parents coming to join the march tomorrow, I would say: keep two things in mind. First, let us conduct this march in a completely peaceful manner. Second, remain vigilant against nefarious elements who might try to disrupt it; let us stay alert and avoid falling into their traps. Attempts might be made to incite trouble or give the event a different complexion...," she further said, adding that "Sonam wanted to continue the fast exactly as he had been observing it previously. He intends to continue the fast he has been maintaining. They have been urging him to consume fluids, but he refused--although he is drinking water..."

Gitanjali Angmo had approached the Delhi High Court challenging Wangchuk's continued stay at Safdarjung Hospital, alleging that he had been forcibly removed from Jantar Mantar while on an indefinite hunger strike demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG paper leak, and was being kept in the hospital without his consent.

Justice Mini Pushkarna held that the material placed before the Court did not indicate that Wangchuk was being illegally confined. The Court noted that his wife, brother and other family members have been granted unrestricted access to him and have also been provided a separate room to stay at the hospital.

The next hearing will be on July 24.