New Delhi:Delhi Police on Sunday detained several members of the All India Students Association (AISA), who were protesting outside Ladakh Bhawan in support of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk.
Wangchuk is demanding to meet the top leadership over granting Sixth Schedule status to Ladakh among others. The AISA members said they were supporting Wangchuk's protest for which, they were detained by the police. Also, police detained JNU students including, AISA's JNU unit president Ranvijay, who were visiting Ladakh Bhawan.
'Padayatris' of Ladakh, under the leadership of Wangchuk, have been sitting on a peaceful hunger strike at Ladakh Bhawan for the last 17 days. In a statement issued by AISA, the association said that it supports the hunger strike for climate justice and restoration of democracy in Ladakh.
There was a huge police deployment outside Ladakh Bhawan, preventing people from joining those sitting on hunger strike. These people had gathered near the barricades when they were detained by the police and taken to Mandir Marg police station. Also, the JNU students, who were visiting Ladakh Bhawan, were detained at the North Gate and taken to Vasant Kunj police station.
The JNU unit of AISA alleged that the government ignores the genuine demands of the common people in order to pursue its agenda of exploitation in the name of development. The government maintains silence for the benefit of its corporate friends and allows unbridled exploitation of Ladakh's resources, AISA members alleged.
Galdan, vice president of Ladakh Students' Union, claimed that fight for greater autonomy will not just benefit Ladakh but everyone in India and the neighbours. He called for greater solidarity among people, saying serious crisis situations have risen from Uttarakhand to Himachal, where severe floods are a direct result of illegal mining and uncontrolled deforestation. The people of Ladakh are peacefully demanding their statehood and environmental rights, he added.
AISA's AUD secretary Syed highlighted the unfulfilled promises made by the BJP government to the people of Ladakh. "The attack on the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir and its division into Union Territories were made with tall promises of representation and development to the people of Ladakh. However, today we can see that all these promises have been ignored and democratic aspirations of people completely betrayed. AISA stands with Ladakh in its struggle for democracy and against the uncontrolled exploitation of its resources in the name of development," he said.
Read more
- 'Blot On Democracy', Says Wangchuk After Several Detained Outside Ladakh Bhawan
- Sonam Wangchuk Hunger Strike Enters 9th Day; 61 Students And Supporters Detained
