After a day of mass detentions in the capital, a familiar voice from the CJP’s earlier agitation has weighed in. Ladakhi activist Sonam Wangchuk said on Saturday that he may start an indefinite fast, or walk to Delhi on a padyatra, if the people detained around Saturday’s protest are still in custody after Sunday.

What Wangchuk said

According to Kashmir Life, Wangchuk warned that he may launch an indefinite fast or a march if those detained during the protests demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation are not released by Sunday, 11 October. The Tribune, citing PTI, reports the same warning.

In a video message and a post on X, he described the situation as an “undeclared emergency”. He said that before the protest, he had appealed for unity and peace, and that he had never imagined the world’s biggest democracy would see what happened next. He added that he had been happy that so many leaders were there to lead the movement, only to learn that they had all been arrested.

“Compelled to consider” a fast or padyatra

Wangchuk said he hopes the detainees will be released soon. If they are not, he said, he would be “compelled to consider an Anshan Fast or Padyatra March”, as reported by Newsarena India. Note the careful wording: he spoke of considering the step, not of an announced start date. He has not said where a fast or march would begin.

Why his voice carries weight

Wangchuk was a key figure in the CJP’s earlier Jantar Mantar protest over the NEET-UG paper leak, an agitation that, according to The Tribune, led to the resignation of former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The same outlet reported on Saturday morning that he would not be joining this protest in person. We have not seen the full reasons in the reports we reviewed, so see The Tribune’s separate piece for that.

What happened on Saturday

Delhi Police denied permission for the Jantar Mantar demonstration and imposed Section 163 of the BNSS in central Delhi. It later said that more than 3,000 protesters had been detained, among them Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Pinarayi Vijayan, Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan and CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke. Kashmir Life reports that police continued to take protesters into preventive custody during the day, telling them that permission had not been granted.

What the other side says

Delhi Police has cited security concerns and the late application for permission. The BJP has dismissed this second round of the CJP agitation as a “flop show”. We have not independently verified turnout, the number detained, or the status of anyone’s release.

What happens next

The Sunday deadline is the thing to watch. If the detainees are released, Wangchuk’s warning may not need to be acted on. If they are not, the CJP’s protest could take a new form, with a high-profile figure in the lead. We will update this article if Delhi Police announces releases or Wangchuk confirms a fast or march.

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