'Blot on democracy', says Wangchuk after several detained outside Ladakh Bhawan
New Delhi, Oct 13: Delhi Police on Sunday detained several people from outside the Ladakh Bhawan where climate activist Sonam Wangchuk is leading an indefinite hunger strike since October 6 to press for their demand to include Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
According to one of the protesters, the detainees have been taken to the Mandir Marg police station.
Earlier police said that Sonam Wangchuk was among those detained, but later the New Delhi DCP clarified that the climate activist was not among the detainees.
"We have detained some students from outside the Ladhak Bhawan. Sonam Wangchuk is not among them," Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Devesh Mahla said.
Meanwhile, Wangchuk said in a video message that the Delhi Police detained several of their supporters, as he questioned why Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) which prohibits unauthorised gatherings is permanently enforced in New Delhi.
"Many people came here today to observe a silent protest. It is really sad that they were detained by Delhi Police. It is sad because in world's largest democracy, we can't even hold a silent protest," Wangchuk said in the message.
"We have been told that Section 163 has been enforced... It is sad that the mother of democracy has such a restriction imposed all through the year. This section is usually enforced temporarily only where there is a chance of law and order getting disrupted," Wangchuk added.
"This is a blot on our democracy, and courts should also take cognisance of it... How can such sections be imposed permanently," he asked.
The Ramon Magsaysay awardee climate activist also shared videos of people being detained on Instagram.
Stating that the protesters did not have the permission to sit outside the Ladakh Bhawan where Section 163 of BNSS is in place, a senior police officer said, "They have filed an application to hold protest at the Jantar Mantar. Their application is under consideration. They are not allowed to protest at any other site. We have detained a few people, who will be released soon."
Wangchuk and his supporters who marched to Delhi from Leh were detained by Delhi Police at the Singhu border on September 30 before being released on October 2.
The group is demanding a meeting with the top leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to press for their demands.
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 also establishes autonomous councils that have legislative, judicial, executive and financial powers to independently govern these areas.
The march to Delhi was organised by the Leh Apex Body which along with the Kargil Democratic Alliance has been spearheading an agitation for the last four years seeking statehood for Ladakh, its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, a public service commission for Ladakh, and separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts.
A SAD DAY FOR DEMOCRACY
— Sonam Wangchuk (@Wangchuk66) October 13, 2024
On 8th day of fast, 61 people doing a Moun Vrat on Ekadashi to #SaveLadakh #SaveHimalayas were forcibly detained.
We were told BNSS 163 (144) prohibitory orders were permanently applied in entire New Delhi district. This I think is against the spirit of… pic.twitter.com/dQz0Gzj2JG
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PM Modi, RSS strengthening wall in path of SCs, STs, OBCs: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi (PTI): Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS were strengthening the wall standing in the path of Dalits, Adivasis and OBCs, even as he acknowledged that the UPA took steps to weaken that wall but not to the extent it should have.
Addressing the 'Samvidhan Rakshak Abhiyaan', Gandhi also referred to the function held on Constitution Day in Parliament and said that it is his guarantee, that "Modi has not read" the Constitution.
"If PM Modi would have read this book then what he does daily, he would not do it," Gandhi said, displaying a copy of the Constitution of India.
Gandhi said the country's whole system is pitted against Dalits, Adivasis and backward class people.
He said a wall obstructs the path of Dalits, Adivasis and OBCs and Modi and the RSS are strengthening that wall by "adding cement to it".
"Slowly the wall (obstructing the path of SCs, STs, OBCs) is getting strengthened. Earlier, the UPA government gave MGNREGA, the land acquisition act, the right to food...those were ways to weaken that wall. Today, when I look back, I can say the UPA government did not weaken the wall to the extent it should have, it did not do it as strongly as it should have," Gandhi said.
"However, we used to make efforts to weaken that wall but they (the BJP) are strengthening that wall by adding concrete," the former Congress president said.
Gandhi said a caste survey being carried out in Telangana is a historic step and the Congress will do the same wherever it comes to power.
