NEW DELHI: Activist Sonam Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali J Angmo, has criticised the flash protest led by Congress neta Rahul Gandhi near PM Narendra Modi’s residence on July 21 as “insincere”.“The protest outside the PM’s house lacked sincerity. It would have been more sincere if it had been done by joining hands at Jantar Mantar. So, the public cannot be fooled anymore. This is an awakened India,” Angmo told India Today in an interview.“The awakened India movement has shown us and shown every political functionary that they now have to walk the talk. They cannot gaslight or be insincere anymore. They have to be sincere, otherwise, they will be thrown out by this young generation that has understood what they have to do and what they have to stand for…”Her remarks came two days after Rahul and other senior netas staged a sit-in near the PM’s residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg over the crackdown on student protesters during their march towards Parliament on July 20. Taking on BJP, Angmo said, “I am very ashamed to say that 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,” she was quoted as saying.“Everybody was there for a cause. That was a demonstration of what Hinduism is. Obstruction of justice, obstruction of freedom, obstruction of protest and terming youths as anti-nationals – this is not nationalism,” she said.In an X post, Angmo, who is the co-founder of Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh (HIAL), said, “As an educator, I find it deeply painful to watch the image of our students being tarnished on media… The students’ protest is taking place peacefully at Jantar Mantar. If there are reports of violence elsewhere in Delhi, please do not rush to attribute them to this movement without evidence.” She added, “Our children deserve to be protected, not portrayed as villains. Their voices deserve to be heard, not drowned out by narratives that serve vested interests.”
