India

Sonam Wangchuk Declines to Join CJP Protest, Focuses on Winter Preparations

By Sana Fazili

Activist Sonam Wangchuk said on Friday that he will not take part in the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on October 10. He explained that he is busy preparing for the upcoming winter, including work on artificial glaciers for water security, experiments for glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) security, and efforts to address more than 200 ticking water bombs in the high Himalayas. Wangchuk quoted Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz in his post on X, wishing the protesters well and urging them to remain peaceful. He added, “I hope we won’t let Baapu down.” The CJP’s protest is part of a nationwide campaign demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over Special Intensive Revision irregularities. Delhi Police have imposed a strict security clampdown for the event, including an internet shutdown within a 4‑kilometre radius of Jantar Mantar, closure of 45 metro stations, deployment of 25,000 police officers, and intensive checks at city borders, railway stations, bus terminals, hotels and other sensitive sites. Train services from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi have been cancelled in anticipation of the protest. Wangchuk previously participated in the CJP’s July protest, where he sat on a 26‑day hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in support of students demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over examination irregularities. He ended the fast on July 23 at a Gurugram hospital in the presence of Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh after negotiations and concerns about potential violence. The protest on October 10 has prompted unprecedented security measures across the national capital.