NEW DELHI: Activist Sonam Wangchuk is ready to end his indefinite hunger strike on Monday if political leaders meet him and assure him that education system accountability will be raised during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, his wife Gitanjali J Angmo said on Sunday.Speaking outside Safdarjung Hospital, where Wangchuk has been admitted since Saturday, Angmo alleged that the activist was being kept under “illegal detention” and said the family had been denied the right to choose the hospital where he should receive treatment.She said the family wanted to shift Wangchuk to Medanta or another private hospital of its choice.“We just wanted to shift him to Medanta or any other hospital of our choice, where we are comfortable. This is a fundamental right of a citizen in India. You cannot be forced to take treatment from a certain doctor or hospital. We were exercising our right to choose where we want to be treated,” she told reporters.Angmo claimed there was a “trust deficit” in the way the government was handling Wangchuk’s treatment.“There is a trust deficit about everything the government is looking after. We were made to wait 10 hours to get a blood sample. Such things create a trust deficit. We did not want him to be in a hospital where there is so much police presence and where water cannons are deployed. We want him to be in a place where he can be comfortable,” she said.According to Angmo, Wangchuk had decided to continue his fast despite doctors advising him to take fluids.“Sonam wanted to remain on fast. They have been asking him to have fluids, but he didn’t want to,” she said.Questioning the circumstances under which Wangchuk was shifted from Jantar Mantar in the early hours of Saturday, Angmo said the authorities could have informed the family if his health had deteriorated.“They were saying they brought him to the hospital because they are concerned about his health. But if you look at the reports from the day before, he was fine. Potassium was 4.3, the other parameters were also fine,” she said.“If they were so concerned about his health, why did they send police personnel in plain clothes? Why did they pick him up forcefully and so mercilessly? They could have conducted a medical test and informed the family if there was something wrong. There is a way of doing things in a democracy,” she added.Alleging that the move was aimed at preventing Wangchuk from participating in the proposed march to Parliament, Angmo said, “This is all drama. They were scared of Sonam’s participation in the march to Parliament. But they don’t realise that the number of people will only double. What we are fighting against in the education system is visible everywhere: misuse of police force, judiciary, media.”She also questioned the discrepancy in Wangchuk’s potassium levels.“When I asked for a blood sample for tests, why did it take them 10 hours to give me the sample? When we got it checked, potassium was 3.6. Then how did the morning report say 2.9?” she asked.Angmo further alleged that Wangchuk’s private doctors had not been allowed to examine him and said the heavy police deployment inside the hospital had created an intimidating atmosphere.“The entire floor is full of police personnel; it feels similar to Jodhpur jail. Sometimes when I am inside, a police constable is standing there. Is this illegal detention? Police do not allow me to use my phone. Sonam was not given his tablet. They are not showing any order (to do this). This is like illegal detention,” she alleged.Earlier in the day, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah met Angmo outside the hospital and wished Wangchuk a speedy recovery.“We wish he gets better, remains healthy, and his protest finds success. May Ladakhis get their right to live in peace and harmony, may their culture progress and may nothing come to harm Ladakh. Please convey my message. I’m wishing him well,” Abdullah said.Wangchuk was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital early on Saturday after police removed him from Jantar Mantar, where he had been on a hunger strike since June 28 in support of the Cockroach Janta Party’s protest over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations.While the CJP described the move as a forcible removal, authorities maintained that Wangchuk was hospitalised on medical advice and in compliance with Delhi High Court directions.(With PTI inputs)
