Mumbai, March 14, 2026
Samajwadi Party (SP) President, Akhilesh Yadav, said on Saturday that Ladakh-based climate activist and engineer, Sonam Wangchuk, should not have been sent to jail in the first place, after the latter’s detention was revoked by the Centre.
Wangchuk, was released from the Jodhpur Central Jail later in the day after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decided to revoke his National Security Act (NSA) detention, adding that all issues could be resolved amicably through dialogue and engagement.
Addressing the media during his visit to Mumbai, the SP Chief said, “The question is, why was he (Sonam Wangchuk) sent to jail? He should not have been jailed at all. His agitation should have been supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) because the party itself had assured that Ladakh would be accorded the status of statehood and would receive all the powers under statehood.”
He alleged that the BJP betrayed Wangchuk, adding: “It (BJP) didn’t only betray the people of Ladakh but the way the party behaved with Wangchuk, sending him to jail, this was their responsibility.”
The decision to revoke the detention of Sonam Wangchuk was also welcomed by the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Abdullah also said, “He (Sonam Wangchuk) should never have been arrested, the arrest itself was wrong.”
The 58-year-old Wangchuk has been held at the Jodhpur Central Jail in Rajasthan since September 26, 2025, nearly six months after the ongoing protests in Ladakh turned violent in the Union Territory’s main city Leh, where at least four people died and more than 160 were injured.
The decision on Saturday came while the Supreme Court has been hearing a habeas corpus petition challenging Wangchuk’s detention.
The Union government had consistently said that the Ladakh-based climate activist “instigated” the unrest in the Union Territory.
On Saturday, though, the Union government said it needed to release Wangchuk to ensure peace and to put an end to “atmosphere of bandhs and protests” in Ladakh.(Agency)
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