‘Undeclared emergency’: Sonam Wangchuk warns of hunger strike, march over protesters’ arrests

NEW DELHI: Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has warned that he may launch a hunger strike or undertake a foot march if protesters detained in Delhi, including Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke, are not released by Sunday. He also described the situation in the country as an “undeclared Emergency”.
Wangchuk's warning followed the detention of protesters during a demonstration in Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral-roll revisions.

Sonam Wangchuk, who had earlier said he would be unable to join the protest because of commitments in Ladakh, expressed solidarity with the demonstrators following the police action. In a post on X, he said he had not imagined that the world's largest democracy would find itself in a situation resembling an undeclared Emergency.
He also said he had been encouraged by the number of leaders who had come forward to lead the movement but had subsequently learnt that they had been detained. He expressed hope that those in custody would be released soon.

Before the protest, Sonam Wangchuk had urged young people to remain peaceful and called on different organisations to maintain unity. He had also expressed hope that the movement would remain committed to peaceful forms of protest.