Govt appears to be sacrificing very space for protest in country: Raj Thackeray on Wangchuk's stir

Mumbai, Jul 16 (PTI) MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday hit out at the Centre over climate activist Sonam Wangchuk's ongoing hunger strike, saying the government has perhaps decided to sacrifice the very space for a protest in the country. Wangchuk, an education reformer, joined the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)'s protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on June 28 and has been on an indefinite hunger strike since then against alleged examination irregularities and demand sacking of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. In a post on X, Thackeray asked if this government can remain a silent spectator while the donations in the Ayodhya Ram temple were being looted, what impact a citizens' protest could possibly have on it. Institutions that ought to function impartially have been co-opted, and elections are being manipulated to suit specific agendas. Exorbitant amounts of money are being spent on this, yet the mainstream media largely fails to question the source of these funds, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president alleged. "The reports regarding his (Wangchuk's) health and the visuals on television are certainly alarming. It is deeply distressing to say this, but it appears the government has decided to sacrifice Sonam Wangchuk, and by extension, the very space for protest in this country," Thackeray said. The government finds it all too easy to crush a protest staged for a worthy cause and to inflict physical suffering upon the protester. There was a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held Sonam Wangchuk in high regard. BJP always cherishes an individual only as long as it serves their convenience, he said. In 2018, Wangchuk was invited to the 'Re-Invest' conference, where the party praised him after listening to his insights on non-conventional energy. Naturally, because the party wanted to showcase its commitment to non-conventional energy. Later, when Ladakh was declared a separate territory, Wangchuk initially appreciated the BJP's move, the MNS chief added. However, Wangchuk eventually realised that the BJP's intentions were far from honest. Wangchuk demanded separate statehood for Ladakh, two Lok Sabha constituencies for the region, and the protection of local people's land rights. He also undertook hunger strikes and protests to this end, yet the government took no action. They offered assurances but failed to follow through, according to him. Addressing the chaos surrounding the NEET exam, dismissing the minister responsible for it, and ensuring transparency in these examinations are Wangchuk's only demands, he said, adding that there was nothing wrong in them. During the BJP's tenure, irregularities in examinations have been rampant, ranging from the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh and the leaking of NEET papers to the recent leaks of teacher recruitment exam papers, he said. "The answer to why this happens under their (BJP) watch, and why they behave with such callous indifference afterward, is simple: it stems from the unbridled power that comes with controlling all the machinery of the state," Thackeray said. PTI PR NP