Congress's protest near PM's house insincere: Big remark by Sonam Wangchuk's wife

The Congress's flash protest near Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence, in which Rahul Gandhi and several top leaders were detained, has come in for criticism from none other than the wife of activist Sonam Wangchuk. Gitanjali Angmo, who has been leading Wangchuk's fight against paper leaks amid the activist's hunger strike, said the Congress's July 21 protest was "insincere" and the leaders should have joined the students at Jantar Mantar instead.In an interview with India Today, Angmo suggested that the politicians were now "exploiting" Wangchuk and his "reputation", but the public cannot be fooled anymore. Wangchuk, who was removed from the Jantar Mantar protest site last week, has continued his hunger strike from the hospital. His fast entered Day 26 on Thursday."The protest outside the Prime Minister's residence lacked sincerity. The public cannot be fooled anymore. This is an awakened India. Those who are insincere will be thrown out by the youth," Angmo, a social entrepreneur and educationist, said. Her remarks come two days after Rahul and senior Congress leaders staged an unprecedented sit-in near PM Modi's 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence over the crackdown on student protesters during their Parliament march. Dramatic scenes played out on Tuesday as Rahul was lifted and dragged from the protest site before being detained. He suffered a nosebleed in the melee.By taking the protest to the Prime Minister's doorstep, the Congress attempted to shift the narrative from administrative failure to hold the political class accountable.This is perhaps what Angmo might be indicating with her remarks, with the movement becoming largely organic devoid of any political or opposition backing.MOVEMENT APOLITICAL, SAYS GITANJALI ANGMOAngmo underlined that the student protests, driven by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), had sent a clear message to the political class that symbolic steps or gestures would no longer suffice."The movement has shown every political leader that they have to walk the talk. They cannot gaslight anymore or be insincere anymore," she said.A Chevening scholar from Oxford University, Angmo asserted the movement was not aligned with any political camp."For us, there is no opposition, there is no government. For us, Parliament is the highest institution. We want Parliament to look at education as the fundamental issue," she said.However, Angmo said those coming without political motives were welcome to join the protest. "Whoever comes with their own agendas will fall by the wayside because this movement is born out of sincerity and purity," she said.'BJP NEITHER TRULY HINDU, NOR NATIONALIST'Training her guns on the BJP, Angmo emphasised that the BJP was neither a true Hindu nor a true nationalist party. She substantiated her bold remark by pointing to the protest itself, which she said reflected the inclusive spirit of Hinduism."I am very ashamed to say that the BJP calls itself a Hindu nationalist party. Because there is nothing about them that is Hindu, and there's nothing about them that is nationalistic," Angmo said.She underlined how people from different religions and across all strata of society took part in the July 20 'Sansad Chalo' march without regard to identity or demographic differences."Everybody was there for a cause. That was a demonstration of what Hinduism is," she said.Angmo further stressed that obstructing protests and terming youths "anti-nationals" was not nationalism. "Obstruction of justice, obstruction of freedom, obstruction to protest, and terming youths as anti-nationals -- this is not nationalism," she said."I request the BJP not to shame Hinduism by calling themselves a Hindu nationalistic party."SONAM WANGCHUK'S NEW DEMANDSAngmo has been a constant presence by Wangchuk's side ever since he was removed from the Jantar Mantar protest site on July 18. The Ladakhi activist was initially shifted to the government-run Safdarjung Hospital. However, the Delhi High Court allowed him to be shifted to a hospital of his choice after Angmo filed a plea.On Wednesday, Wangchuk released a letter listing his demands to end his hunger strike. The activist sought assurance from the government that none of the students who participated in the July 20 march would face punitive action.However, his core demand of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation was missing. It was seen as a softening of tone by Wangchuk.However, Wangchuk said Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh, who visited him at the hospital earlier this week, assured him that the demand for Pradhan's resignation would be considered.- EndsPublished By: Abhishek DePublished On: Jul 23, 2026 12:58 IST