NEW DELHI: Activist Sonam Wangchuk on Thursday asserted he considers himself an "honorary cockroach," as he rejected Ladakh Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena's claim that he was "unsure" about the origins of the online Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement.
The remarks came in response to a post shared by Saxena on X on Tuesday, following a meeting with Wangchuk and his wife and HIAL co-founder Gitanjali J Angmo.
In his post, the LG said he had cautioned Wangchuk against “weaving a misleading and provocative narrative” and claimed that the activist had accepted that comparing Ladakh with Manipur was an “error of judgement.” Saxena also stated that Wangchuk was unsure about the origins of the Cockroach Janta Party and would revisit his stand after examining its background.
Saxena also stated that Wangchuk was unsure about the origins of the Cockroach Janta Party and would "study the motivations of its founders and revisit his stand, if necessary."
However, Wangchuk dismissed the claims and said that the meeting had been cordial and did not resemble the tone reflected in the LG's public remarks.
"The LG Ladakh invited us for some meeting over a cup of tea. We spent nearly an hour in a cordial and friendly atmosphere discussing his initiatives, our work and possibilities of collaboration," Wangchuk told PTI.
He said the discussion touched upon his recent comments comparing Ladakh with Manipur and his support for the CJP movement, but there was no warning or reprimand during the interaction.
"One hour after we left, we were surprised, and not very pleasantly, to see that he had tweeted in a tone as if he had censured us or cautioned us," he said.
Wangchuk said he believed the public messaging may have been aimed at satisfying political expectations elsewhere.
"I thought this was maybe to please some boss somewhere in Delhi who had instructed him to call me up and say such things, but the meeting was none like this, only the tweet was," he said.
The educationist said he deliberately refrained from reacting immediately to what he called "childish behaviour", and chose to respond only on the third day after the remarks appeared in several newspapers.
He also rubbished the LG's claim on the Manipur comparison and said he never described the analogy as an "error of judgment."
"I don't think it is an error of my judgment. I still totally stand by it," he said, adding, he only said that the example was "avoidable" in the current context.
"Avoidable is very different from an error of judgment," Wangchuk said.
The leader against whom National Security Act was invoked strongly disputed the LG's assertion that he distanced himself from the CJP.
He said Saxena described the group as influenced or controlled by foreign powers and funded by external entities, allegations he neither accepted nor endorsed.
"I never said I was unsure of the origins and would revisit my stand that way," he asserted.
According to Wangchuk, Saxena termed the movement "unfortunate" and alleged that it was funded by entities such as the Soros Foundation, and foreign powers like Pakistan and Bangladesh.
"Inside me, I was laughing at this story that he was telling the person who was jailed under NSA with exactly such stories. You are supplying the same story to the person who was subjected to these," he said.
Wangchuk said he told the LG that governments should not feel insecure about such expressions and should instead engage with the concerns being voiced.
The Magsaysay award winner said, "I'm a huge admirer of Cockroach Party, and I remain the same... I stand by what I said that I am an honorary cockroach and I support it."
Wangchuk added that he had only expressed willingness to examine any evidence placed before him regarding the origins of the organisation, stressing that openness to information should not be interpreted as withdrawal of support.
He also appealed to the group's founder, Abhijeet Dipke, whom he referred to as 'cockroach-in-chief', to publicly share audience data and financial details.
Dipke, founder of the satirical social media platform Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) that has evolved into an online movement, earlier rejected allegations that the campaign enjoys substantial foreign backing.
In posts on X, he shared audience analytics of the group's social media handles, claiming that over 94 per cent of its audience was from India and dismissed allegations of Pakistani or foreigners dominating its followership.
Wangchuk said the data should be placed before the public to settle the issue.
"If it is an Indian youth initiative with foreign following, I become an even bigger admirer and supporter... Even if 70 per cent are from India and the rest are spread in several countries, it makes India a vishvaguru at least in creative protests," he remarked.
Earlier, in his post, Saxena said both sides agreed that "an air of positivity" should be maintained in Ladakh, cautioning that prolonged protests could affect tourism and economic activity in the Union Territory.
His remarks come days after talks between Ladakh representatives and a Ministry of Home Affairs sub-committee.
In earlier interviews with PTI, Wangchuk said he feared Ladakh was headed towards divisions similar to Manipur before the recent talks improved the atmosphere.
(With agency inputs)
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