Modi govt fully exposed, done total U-turn: Cong after Wangchuk's detention order revoked

Sonam Wangchuk

On a day the Union Government announced revoking Sonam Wangchuk's detention under the National Security Act, the Congress said the Narendra Modi dispensation "stands fully exposed" as it had "arrested" the activist on "completely bogus grounds".

With Wangchuk released from the Jodhpur Central Jail on Saturday afternoon after nearly six months of incarceration, the opposition party demanded the government apologise not just to the activist and his family, but also to the people of Ladakh.

Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh, said the government should also immediately release all those detained for staging peaceful protests.

"The Indian National Congress had condemned the arrest of Sonam Wangchuk on completely bogus grounds six months back. Now the Modi government has done a total U-turn. It stands fully exposed. It should apologise to not only Mr Wangchuk and his family, but to the people of Ladakh as well," he said in a post on X.

"It should also immediately release all those who were detained for staging peaceful and democratic protests," the Congress leader added.

Wangchuk, 59, was detained on September 26 last year under the stringent NSA on an order issued by the Leh district magistrate, two days after violent protests erupted during an agitation by the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance for statehood to Ladakh and its inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, leaving four people dead.

The activist was kept in Jodhpur Central Jail, where he had already undergone nearly half of the detention period stipulated under the Act, according to a statement issued by the Centre announcing the decision to revoke his detention "with immediate effect".