New Delhi : Activist Sonam Wangchuk on Wednesday alleged that the government went back on its word by releasing photographs of him ending his 26-day hunger strike. In an exclusive interview with India Today Wangchuk claimed there was a clear understanding that no photographs of his late-night meeting with Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh would be made public until Opposition leaders and student representatives were also associated with the announcement.
The ministers had brought their own photographers. They promised me they would not release the pictures, but they broke that promise, the 59-year-old said. Wangchuk explained that in Ladakh, it is customary for government representatives to offer juice or soup to a protester after accepting their demands, but he did not want the moment to be portrayed as an event involving only the ruling party.
Since the ministers arrived after midnight, Wangchuk said he proposed an alternative. “I agreed to end my fast, but only on the condition that the news would be released on my terms, with photographs of Opposition leaders and, if possible, student representatives included so it reflected a collective effort,” he said. According to Wangchuk, the ministers accepted the proposal, and senior Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials present during the meeting were made witnesses to the understanding.
I was waiting to gather photographs with leaders from other parties. Within five minutes, a senior IB officer rushed in and told me, ‘Sir, I don’t know how, but these images are already being aired on television channels, he recalled. Rejecting allegations that he had struck a “midnight deal” with the government to end his fast, Wangchuk said he had no interest in political bargaining.
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