Govt ‘Scared’ Of People Joining Wangchuk In March To Parliament, Says Wife Gitanjali After HC Order
New Delhi: A day after climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was shifted to Safdarjung hospital following health deterioration resulting from 20 days of hunger strike, his wife Gitanjali J. Angmo said that the BJP-led Central government is “scared” that a huge number of people will join the agitator during a peaceful march to the Parliament, scheduled to be held on the first day of the Monsoon session on Monday, July 20.
Angmo’s reaction came after the Delhi High Court on Sunday refused to pass any interim order on a plea filed by her, challenging Wangchuk’s continued hospitalisation at Safdarjung Hospital, observing that the government’s decision to shift him from the Jantar Mantar protest site in view of his deteriorating medical condition could not be termed arbitrary.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has been leading the agitation seeking the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG paper leak.
Speaking to reporters, Sonam Wangchuk’s wife said: “They (authorities) are saying that his health was deteriorating and that he was taken (to Safdarjung hospital) because they were concerned about his condition. But both of these claims are false. His health was not deteriorating. If you look at the reports from the previous evening, everything was completely normal; his potassium level was 4.3, and other parameters were also normal.”
“Also, if they (government) are so concerned about his health, then why did they send police in civil clothes and why did they forcefully take him in a stretcher? They could have come and properly conducted a medical test and informed the family that some parameter is low, so we want to hospitalise him, that is a process followed in a democracy if they are indeed concerned,” she added.
Further, Gitanjali J. Angmo remarked: “I would just say that all this health concern is a drama. They (the government) were scared that if Sonam leads the march (to the Parliament) tomorrow, lakhs of people will join him, not only in Delhi but across the country.”
She alleged that the government is attempting to stop Wangchuk from undertaking the peaceful march.
“What they don’t know is that people who were already willing to join Wangchuk in the march, now their numbers will double in his absence because we are fighting against this…misuse of police, judiciary and education system,” she said.
Angmo mentioned that she had requested the hospital administration to let those doctors who were previously treating Wangchuk consult with him. She alleged that the hospital denied, saying, “It is a government hospital and does not want to allow consultations with private doctors”.
“We want him to receive treatment from doctors and at a hospital where we feel comfortable. If you look at yesterday’s report, his blood pressure, which usually remains at 110/70, had risen to 125/85 because of the atmosphere being created there,” she stated.
Questioning continued police presence near Wangchuk at the hospital, Angmo said: “The atmosphere is similar to when Wangchuk was in Jodhpur jail. Also, he is not being allowed to use a phone or tablet (electronic gadget); this is being treated like an unsaid illegal detention.”
“It is a bad time for the country where a person cannot get treatment at a hospital of his choice,” the activist’s wife remarked.
(IANS)
