New Delhi, Oct 1 Senior Janata Dal-United leader K.C. Tyagi on Tuesday supported the Centre's move to detain environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk and his supporters, saying that it would be illegal for any organisation or person to protest or gather at Rajghat ahead of Gandhi Jayanti.
The detention has received criticism from the Congress and AAP.
Wangchuk, along with his supporters was detained at Delhi's Singhu border while marching to Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. The activist and over 100 people from Ladakh were headed to the national capital to demand Sixth Schedule status for the Union Territory.
Talking to IANS, Tyagi said, "Gandhi Jayanti is on October 2. On that day, President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and politicians from various parties will come to pay tribute to Gandhi. In such a situation, it would be illegal for any organisation or person to protest or gather there."
Tyagi asserted that for the above reason, the Central government has stopped Wangchuk and his supporters.
Meanwhile, several opposition leaders, including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal strongly criticised the BJP government for detaining the environmentalist.
Kharge also described the action against Wangchuk as "cowardly" and "undemocratic".
"The arrogance of the Modi Govt consumed in power has detained a group of citizens from Ladakh peacefully marching to Delhi. This is nothing but a cowardly action and is deeply undemocratic in nature. In Ladakh, there is a growing wave of public support, with widespread calls for safeguarding tribal communities under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Instead, the Modi Govt wants to exploit the ecologically sensitive Himalayan glaciers of Ladakh to benefit its crony friends. This incident tells us that the fight against Modi Govt’s brazen despotism is far from over," Kharge said on X.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also criticised the BJP on X and said that the BJP would not gain anything from it.
"Those who are afraid of peace are scared from within. The BJP government cannot achieve anything by obstructing the peaceful Delhi visit of environmentalist and Ladakh well-wisher Sonam Wangchuk. If the Centre does not listen to the voice of the border, it will be called political deafness," Yadav stated.
Kejriwal shared Wangchuk's video on X saying: "Sometimes they stop farmers from coming to Delhi, sometimes they stop people from Ladakh. Is Delhi the property of one person? Delhi is the country's capital. Everyone has the right to come to Delhi. This is completely wrong. Why are they afraid of unarmed peaceful people."
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