Sonam Wangchuk warns of hunger strike over Delhi arrests, calls situation 'undeclared emergency'

Climate activist and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk on Saturday condemned the detention of student leaders, youth activists, lawyers and opposition leaders in Delhi ahead of a protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, describing the situation as an “undeclared emergency”.

Wangchuk urged the government to end the detentions and address the concerns through dialogue, warning that he would consider a peaceful sit-in, hunger strike or march in Leh or Delhi if the restrictions were not withdrawn within the next 24 hours.

In a post on X, the activist said he had not imagined that the world's largest democracy would be under an “undeclared emergency”.

“I was happy there were so many leaders to lead the movement, but I now learn that they have all been arrested. I hope those arrested will be released soon. I will be compelled to consider an anshan (fast) or padyatra march if they are not released by tomorrow,” he said.

In a separate video message, Wangchuk said he had expected peaceful demonstrations to be permitted after appealing for peace and unity ahead of Saturday's protest.

He said a large number of people, including student and youth leaders, lawyers, journalists and Members of Parliament, had been detained in the national capital.

“I strongly condemn this and appeal to the government to end all these arrests by this evening and resolve the issues through dialogue,” he said, reiterating that he might launch a peaceful protest if the detentions and restrictions continued.

The protest, called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar, sought Kumar's resignation over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

Delhi witnessed a heavy security deployment and restrictions ahead of the demonstration. Several opposition leaders, including former chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar, were detained as they attempted to join the protest.

Separately, former BJP leader from Kishtwar Jahanzaib Sirwal criticised the government's response to protesting young people, particularly members of Generation Z, and called for greater dialogue and democratic engagement.

“Dialogue is not a sign of weakness; it is the very foundation of democracy,” Sirwal said in a statement, arguing that the government should listen to young people and address their concerns rather than expect them to remain silent.

He said preventive measures such as detentions, train service suspensions, route diversions and metro closures might be used in specific circumstances, but could not resolve the grievances behind a protest.

“Administrative restrictions may disperse a gathering, but they cannot resolve the concerns that brought people onto the streets in the first place. The government must understand the difference between managing a protest and resolving a grievance,” he said.

Sirwal also said the vision of 'Viksit Bharat' required more than economic growth and infrastructure development, arguing that citizens must be able to exercise their fundamental rights and participate meaningfully in the democratic process.

He urged authorities to address concerns over the Chief Election Commissioner through institutional and democratic channels, with transparency and engagement rather than restrictions that could deepen public discontent.