Sonam Wangchuk threatens fast or foot march over Delhi protest arrests

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has threatened to launch a hunger strike or a foot march unless police in Delhi release political leaders and activists detained during demonstrations across the capital on Saturday.

In a video message posted on X, Wangchuk described conditions in New Delhi as an "undeclared emergency" after authorities took around 1,000 people into preventive custody ahead of a planned rally at Jantar Mantar. The demonstration was organized to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

Among those taken into custody were Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, AAP leader Sanjay Singh, and All India Students' Association leader Neha Bora. Delhi Police said permission had not been granted for the gathering and began stopping protesters at several points in the city.

Following his detention, Kejriwal released a video alongside Singh calling on citizens to continue protesting. "The youth of the country has awakened. We are not going to be intimidated by Modi's tyranny," Kejriwal said, adding that people would not accept what he termed the stealing of votes.

Bora also confirmed her arrest on social media, urging young people to maintain the demonstration regardless of police action. "To my fellow Gen Z: This is our 1942. Their jails can hold a few of us but not all of us," she wrote, asking supporters to stage sit-ins wherever they were stopped.

Other demonstrators reported being intercepted before reaching the site, with Cockroach Janata Party activist Abhijeet Dipke stating he was detained at Delhi airport after arriving on a flight from Mumbai.

Wangchuk, who had earlier appealed for peace and unity during the planned march, expressed shock at the scale of the police response. He gave authorities until Sunday to release those held before he decides whether to begin an Anshan fast or a padyatra foot march.