Wangchuk calls revocation of NSA detention a win-win

Activist Sonam Wangchuk on Tuesday termed the revocation of his detention under the National Security Act (NSA) a win-win development and said the Centre has extended its hand to build trust for a meaningful dialogue with the people of Ladakh.

Making these assertions in his first public remarks here after being released from jail last Saturday, he also said the protests in Ladakh have been aimed at initiating a constructive dialogue process.

Addressing a press conference here along with his wife and HIAL co-founder Gitanjali J Angmo, Wangchuk said, “We were sure of a victory in the court, but a win was not enough. I wanted a win-win,” he said.

He described the government’s move as an “extending of hand to build trust and to facilitate meaningful, constructive dialogue”.

“They have offered a constructive, meaningful dialogue. This is what we have wanted, and we had to struggle so much, walk to Delhi, sit on ‘anshan’ (fast). All movements in Ladakh are for starting the dialogue process,” he said.

“Usually, you see people picking up guns and the Government appealing for dialogue. Here, people are urging the Government to start a dialogue,” he said.

Asked about his next step, Wangchuk said he would travel to Ladakh and consult with leaders of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KAD), which have been spearheading the agitation over the past five years for statehood and extension of the Sixth Schedule to Ladakh.

On whether he would return to agitation, he said, “I have always said I don’t want to sit on hunger strike; I am forced to do it. Now that the Government is extending its hand, we hope a good example is set.”

Wangchuk, 59, was detained on September 26 last year under the stringent NSA, two days after violent protests during the agitation left four people dead. He was released from Jodhpur Central Jail on Saturday after the Union Government revoked his detention with immediate effect.

The LAB and KDA have remained engaged in talks with the Ministry of Home Affairs over their key demands of statehood and Sixth Schedule inclusion, issues that have simmered since the region was carved out of Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory in 2019.

The outfits held rallies and shut down on Monday to demand the next round of talks as promised during the high-powered committee meeting. The last meeting of the high-powered committee chaired by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai took place on February 4, where both bodies demanded the release of Wangchuk and 70 other detainees.