New Delhi: The BJP Saturday justified the hospitalisation of activist Sonam Wangchuk on the 21st day of his indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar here, saying it was done in compliance with a Delhi High Court direction that his health be monitored.
The ruling party also hit out at opposition parties, asking whether they would have preferred his health to deteriorate merely to sustain a “political spectacle”.
Earlier in the day, the Delhi Police forcibly removed Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar and shifted him to Safdarjung Hospital, citing medical advice and directions of the Delhi High Court.
Responding to the development, BJP national spokesperson and former Union minister Shahnawaz Hussain told PTI Videos that the high court had directed that Wangchuk’s health be properly monitored.
“He has been admitted to the hospital for a medical examination to monitor his health and ensure that he remains healthy. That is the only reason,” Hussain said.
BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said the authorities acted with empathy, balancing the court’s directions with the imperative of protecting life.
“Sonam Wangchuk’s preliminary medical report is now in the public domain. Importantly, it records that the medical examination was conducted with his own consent,” Malviya claimed in a post on X while sharing a purported medical report.
“So what exactly is the outrage about? Following the Delhi High Court’s directions, the authorities shifted him to a hospital to facilitate his recovery after his health deteriorated during the fast,” he said.
Targeting the opposition, Malviya asked, “Would the opposition have preferred that his condition worsen merely to sustain a political spectacle?”
“Ensuring timely medical care in a situation like this is the responsible course of action, not a matter for manufactured controversy,” he added.
Several opposition leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, slammed the Centre after activist Wangchuk was forcibly removed from Jantar Mantar.