Wangchuk alleges Union Ministers released meeting photos without consent after fast ended

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has accused the delegation of Union Ministers who met him with the request to end his fast of releasing photographs of the meeting where he ended his hunger strike without his consent, despite promising not to do so.

The incident, he said, has left him disenchanted with politicians across party lines. The remarks came over a week after Wangchuk broke his fast late at night on July 24 after meeting the Union Ministers.

Photos trigger controversy

Speaking to India Today, Wangchuk further alleged that the photographs were leaked to the media despite a prior agreement that no photographs of the meeting with Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh would be released until Opposition leaders and student leaders were also associated with it.

Also Read: Sonam Wangchuk backs Jharkhand students as Mahato's hunger strike enters day four

"The ministers had their own photographers. They pledged to me they wouldn't release it. They broke the promise," said Wangchuk.

Elaborating further, he said that it was a custom in Ladakh for government representatives to offer juice or soup to end a hunger strike after accepting the protestors' demand, adding that he made it clear to the Union Ministers that the matter should not be projected as an event only involving the ruling party at the Centre.

"I told them I would like members of other political parties, their leadership and student leaders to be part of it. I wanted it to be a joint gathering," he added.

Conditions for ending fast

Pointing out that the ministers have arrived to meet him at midnight, Wangchuk said that he suggested an alternative arrangement.

"I said I would break the fast, but the news would be released on my terms, with photographs of Opposition leaders and, if possible, student leaders put together so it appeared to be a joint effort," he added.

Also Read: Ground Report: Why Wangchuk's fellow organisers can't convince him to stop

Wangchuk claimed that the ministers agreed to the stipulations and senior Intelligence Bureau officials present during the meeting were urged to be witnesses to the agreement.

"I told the IB officers, 'You are witnesses to this agreement. Nobody will release any images to the media until I break the news with all parties represented.' They agreed and made that promise," he said.

Promise allegedly broken

However, according to Wangchuk, things took an unexpected turn when an IB officer told him that the photos were being flashed on TV channels already.

Also Read: Wangchuk: No deal with Centre, ended fast fearing crackdown like Ladakh

"I was waiting to collect photographs of leaders from other parties. Within five minutes, a senior IB officer came huffing and puffing and said, 'Sir, I don't know how, but these images are already running on television channels,'" he recalled.

Rejects 'midnight deal' claims

Refuting allegations that he had struck a midnight deal with the Centre, Wangchuk said that if he wanted, he could have made a bigger deal like demanding to be made the Union Education Minister, but did not resort to any such actions.

"I could have done that deal much earlier. I need not have sat on a 26-day hunger strike. I could have made much bigger deals. I could have even said, 'Make me the education minister.' If I wanted to make deals, I had many opportunities," he said.

The activist said that the incident had led to him losing faith in political leaders. "They broke the promise. So I've lost trust in all these leaders," he added.