00:00Climate activist Sunam Vangchuk was arrested ahead of his reported press conference under NSA
00:05after Ladakh's protests turned violent. Before this, you'd remember in Punjab, MP Amrit Pal
00:09Singh and nine associates had been jailed under the NSA since 2023 for links with Khalistan.
00:15So this is a huge arrest. The NSA is serious. It lets the government detain someone without trial,
00:21usually when they think there's a threat to national security. The centre squarely blamed
00:25Vangchuk for the violent protests, saying he incited the mob and that this was a bid to
00:29sabotage the statehood talks already underway. While Vangchuk has repeatedly said
00:33Vangchuk, who has been long the face of non-violent activism in Ladakh, was previously detained during
00:47his Delhi Chalo protest in late 2024 but was later released. However, Vangchuk's arrest today marks a
00:52dramatic escalation in the region's ongoing political standoff with the centre. Vangchuk's detention came
00:57a day after the centre cancelled the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act registration of his
01:01non-profit, the Student Education and Cultural Movement of Ladakh, citing alleged irregularities.
01:07Political reactions have been pouring in. Mehbuma Mufti called Vangchuk's arrest,
01:11deeply disturbing. Aam Amni Party criticised it as an attack on democracy.
01:15Omar Abdullah said that the centre has the problem that it makes promises but doesn't fulfil them.
01:20Jairam Ramesh of the Congress said that the government can't just brush this aside or arrest
01:24Vangchuk. They need to talk to the people of Ladakh sincerely and fast.
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