Sonam Wangchuk has completely refuted the allegations raised about her connection with the CJP movement and the party’s foreign links. She said that she supported the movement only after ground reports, available information and discussions with the youth involved in the movement.
In a podcast, Sonam Wangchuk was asked about the funding and foreign links of the CJP movement. At this time, she was asked in a humorous manner – ‘Are you connected with the CIA?’ She jokingly said that the CIA’s job recruitment process may be so secret that even after 500 years of death, a person would not know about it. Sonam Wangchuk was a prominent figure in the CJP-led protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in June. She supported the movement against irregularities in exams and also went on an indefinite fast in support of the protesters.
Regarding the educational claims of CJP founder Abhijit Deepke and his alleged links with Pakistan, Bangladesh or the US, Wangchuk said that he had not done an in-depth investigation like any major investigative agency. However, he said that he had checked the available information about the movement. According to Wangchuk, some officials, including himself, were told that the movement was getting a lot of support from Bangladesh, Pakistan and the US. But after looking at the data of social media followers, he said that 94 percent of the followers were Indians and only 6 percent were foreigners.
In a humorous tone, Wangchuk said that India may actually be the ‘world guru’. He satirized this by saying that the ‘Cockroach Janata Party’, which started in India, is also being formed in Pakistan. Wangchuk said that he does not consider having 6 percent foreign followers to be a cause of danger. If this number had been 30 percent, then it would have been a matter of concern for him, he said. After talking to the protesters on the phone and asking them various questions, he did not feel that they were working for any foreign power.
According to Wangchuk, he decided to support the protest after being convinced that there was no ill will towards it. He decided to join them, especially after they said that they could be arrested as soon as they reached Delhi. He also said that if they were arrested, he would go on a hunger strike.
However, on the question of whether it is right to trust the protest only by looking at social media data or screenshots, Wangchuk said that he is ready for further investigation.
