Mumbai, Oct 24 Climate activist and educationist Sonam Wangchuk on Saturday said protests are a great mechanism for governments to perform better and cited the unrest in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as examples of what could happen if they are disallowed.
Speaking at the IPF Festival here, he said nations all around the world happily permit protests, and that too right in front of Parliament.
In fact in all the countries the front of parliament is the face of the protest, Wangchuk claimed. He said in countries like the United Kingdom, Norway and Sweden, protests are allowed right in front of parliament.
“In India, it was far from Parliament.. Even when it was just Jantar Mantar, it was too far,” he asserted.
“Protests are a great mechanism, a feedback, a previous value for the governments to perform better if they see that,” he said.
His remarks assume significance amid the clampdown by the Centre after the Cockroach Janta Party gave a call to protest at Jantar Mantar seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The Opposition criticised the Union government for not allowing protests to take place.
“Look what happens when protests are not allowed. That is the example of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh,” Wangchuk said.
He said no permission should be sought to hold protests. Permissions should be about checking what is happening in the city, for example festivals, Wangchuk added.
Talking to reporters here, Wangchuk asserted that peaceful protest on the roads was the correct way as it is a right given to citizens by the Constitution.
“You don’t kill the messenger. Take the message,” he said on the arrest of protesters, including CJP leaders.
“If you do things that need not be done, then people will go against you. This will only hurt the government. Do what is right,” Wangchuk said.
Targeting the Centre, Wangchuk said the paramilitary forces come under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“But they are behind their own people, the ones like me, our youth,” Wangchuk said.
The Centre came under criticism for deploying paramilitary units when the CJP gave a protest call earlier this month.
Wangchuk’s remarks also came after the Ladakh administration defended its decision to cancel the land allotment to the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL), citing the activist’s “disregard for the law” and stating that the allotment had automatically lapsed due to unpaid dues and failure to execute the lease deed.
He said the government should give top priority to the security of the country.
“We have started using paramilitary forces frequently for internal security, but our borders must be safe. Paramilitary should be the one protecting the borders,” he said.
“I have seen in Ladakh the salami slicing in which China is inching inside. That happens when the focus loses (moves away) from the border, especially in the winter when paramilitary forces are deployed for other work. By the time they return, China has already entered and then it becomes difficult to push them back,” he claimed.
The MHA must focus on the borders so that the enemy does not cross the country’s borders, he said, while adding that paramilitary forces should be under the Ministry of Defence and not the MHA.
“If the MHA wants to target civilians, then borders should be handed over to the Ministry of Defence,” Wangchuk asserted.
(PTI News)
