Sonam Wangchuk wanted to break his fast with Rahul Gandhi. But got no 'positive response'

Activist Sonam Wangchuk has revealed that he wanted Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to break his hunger strike, but did not receive a positive response. He also defended his wife Gitanjali after she was criticised over remarks she made about the Congress leader.

Gitanjali was attacked after she said that Gandhi should not have staged a protest outside the Prime Minister's residence.

Wangchuk broke his 26-day hunger strike at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram in the presence of Union Ministers JP Nadda and Dr Jitendra Singh, along with senior leaders of the Apex Body of Leh Ladakh. He broke the fast on July 24.

The activist said his wife was in fact trying to arrange for Rahul Gandhi to end his fast, contrary to claims that she was against the Congress MP. He said she had been disappointed because Gandhi did not respond despite efforts from their side.

"Actually, we were pondering on breaking my fast through Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi. Gitanjali actually was working on that. She was not against Rahul ji. She was working hard to see if Rahul Gandhi could break my fast. She didn't get a positive response," he said in an exclusive conversation with India Today TV.

He added that only a few opposition leaders visited him at Jantar Mantar, and many came very late.

"So this disappointment caught on with her when she made a single comment about them," he said.

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'NO REGRETS'

Wangchuk said he had no regrets about joining the movement, though he was disappointed with leaders across political parties. "No regrets. This is how the world is, and that's why people like us need to do things," he said when asked how he felt when the Congress ecosystem attacked his wife Gitajali.

Referring to online criticism after his wife's remarks, he said, "There were four or five very harsh comments about BJP; they didn't react. But this ecosystem started trolling her, trolling me. So I am really disappointed with the leadership."

DENIES ANY DEAL WITH CENTRE

Wangchuk also rejected allegations that he had struck a deal with the Centre after his NGO's Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence was cancelled and he was later arrested.

The opposition leaders and students who wanted the protest to continue were upset after Wangchuk broke the fast. They suggested that Wangchuk did that to protect funding for his NGO.

"I was accused of (striking a deal) when I was released from jail. I could have done the deal then. I need not have sat on 26 days of hunger. I could have made much bigger deals. I could have said make me the education minister. I could have made any deal... if I was to make deals," he said.

He added that people either did not know "what material I'm made of" or were deliberately spreading such claims.

Asked whether his month-long fast was aimed at securing Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation, Wangchuk said accountability was more important than any individual resignation.

"The resignation part was never a very serious thing for me. I wanted to awaken the consciousness of the people in the ruling party, people in the opposition...Resignation is a great beginning of accountability," he said.