Vishal Dadlani, Prakash Raj lash out at government for ‘forcefully’ removing Sonam Wangchuk from protest site

Mumbai: Music composer Vishal Dadlani and veteran actor Prakash Raj have expressed their anger at the forceful removal of activist, innovator and reformer Sonam Wangchuk from the protest site at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

On Saturday, the composer took to his Instagram, and shared a video of himself talking to the camera, as he expressed his frustration at the government’s action.

He said, “Have you ever seen such cowardice? They forcefully took away Sonam ji. What they are doing to this country, this is… Breaks my heart, it breaks my heart. My countrymen, when will you wake up? If you don’t wake up now, when will you wake up? I don’t know what to say, I don’t know what to think, I don’t know what to… I just wish I was there to help in some way. My brain is bursting with anger right now (sic)”.

Veteran actor Prakash Raj too slammed the Union government for its action, and the alleged crackdown on the protest.

He took to his X, formerly Twitter, and penned a note in which he called the central government, a “coward” administration.

He wrote, “World is witnessing a Coward government who don’t want to engage in a dialogue with the youth but want to behave like Dictators . Forcibly taking away ⁦ @Wangchuk66 ⁩ and disrupting Students peaceful protest is a sign of Fear . What a SHAME (sic)”.

Sonam Wangchuk was forcibly removed by Delhi Police from his protest site at Jantar Mantar in the early hours of July 18 after completing 21 days of an indefinite hunger strike. Authorities shifted him to a hospital, citing his deteriorating health, medical advice and compliance with a Delhi High Court order. Police said protesters briefly obstructed the operation but maintained that only minimal force was used.

HIs supporters, however, alleged that the removal was carried out without consent and described it as a crackdown on a peaceful democratic protest.

Sonam Wangchuk has been on a hunger strike demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in competitive exams. The raging issue of paper leaks across academia reached a fever pitch with the NEET paper leak.

It involved allegations of question paper leaks, irregularities, and unfair advantages in India’s medical entrance exam conducted by the National Testing Agency. The controversy intensified after unusually high numbers of top scorers and perfect marks raised concerns. Students protested, demanding transparency, a re-test, and accountability. The government defended the exam process while investigations by agencies examined the extent of malpractice, affecting trust in the examination system.

IANS