Why has PM Modi not met Sonam Wangchuk, asks Congress leader Sapkal

Maharashtra State Congress Committee President Harshvardhan Sapkal said here on Friday that social activist Sonam Wangchuk and the Congress are raising the same issues, asking why Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not met Wangchuk so far.

Sapkal said that the Congress had taken up the issue of the NEET examination much before Sonam Wangchuk and had demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

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“Both Congress and Wangchuk are fighting for the same cause. Instead of asking why Rahul Gandhi has not met Wangchuk, the real question is why Prime Minister Narendra Modi has still not met Wangchuk and why Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has not been asked to resign,” Sapkal said.

Speaking to media persons herte on Friday at Tilak Bhavan in Dadar West, Sapkal said that Wangchuk had earlier gone on a hunger strike over the issues concerning Ladakh, but the BJP government had arrested him under the National Security Act and sent him to jail.

Sapkal said that Wangchuk has now been on a hunger strike for the past 20 days over the NEET paper leak issue, yet the BJP government has failed to take note of his protest.

“Narendra Modi has not even spoken about the issue in Mann Ki Baat, but Congress is being unnecessarily linked to Wangchuk. The Modi government has not treated the NEET paper leak with the seriousness it deserves. The future of 2.4 million students is at stake. That is why Rahul Gandhi has launched the nationwide ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ campaign and is firmly demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan,” Sapkal said.

Responding to a question about the invitation extended to the Chief Minister and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Ram Raksha programme, Sapkal said, “Ram naam japna, paraya maal apna (chant Lord Ram’s name while appropriating others’ wealth) reflects the conduct of the BJP and the RSS”.

“A major theft took place at the Shri Ram Temple in Ayodhya, and those involved are linked to the BJP and the RSS. They were appointed by the Narendra Modi government itself. Although a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted to investigate the theft, it is merely a puppet of the BJP government and will never catch the real culprits. The BJP and the RSS have maintained complete silence over this theft,” Sapkal said.

“The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has invited them to the Ram Raksha programme. If the Chief Minister and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat have the courage, they should participate in it,” Sapkal said.

Replying to a question about the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, Sapkal said that there has been media speculation over the past few days about the party joining the NDA, but senior leaders of that party, namely Jayant Patil and MP Supriya Sule, have already clarified their party’s stand, and their statements should be trusted, Sapkal said.