NEW DELHI: Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk will continue his hunger strike despite being shifted from Safdarjung Hospital to Medanta, his wife Gitanjali Angmo said on Tuesday, alleging that his stay at the government-run facility felt like “detention and captivity” and welcoming the Delhi high court’s decision allowing the transfer.Angmo claimed that Wangchuk’s health could have been monitored at Jantar Mantar itself and accused authorities of unnecessarily hospitalising him to keep him away from supporters amid the ongoing agitation over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations.“I thank Delhi High Court for favourably disposing of this matter. In India, a democratic citizen has the right to choose his choice of doctor and hospital and treatment. Here, we had trust deficit because of the way he was brought here.” she said.She maintained that Wangchuk’s condition was not life-threatening and said the family had greater concerns about his health than the government.“His hospitalisation was not needed, as monitoring of his health could be done at Jantar Mantar. It was like a detention so that he cannot get in contact with people outside. His health parameters are not life-threatening. We are more worried about his health than the government,” Angmo said.The activist, she added, had decided to continue his fast in solidarity with students who were allegedly beaten and tear-gassed during protests linked to the movement.“Sonam has decided to continue his fast, showing solidarity with the students who were beaten yesterday,” she said.Angmo also alleged that several MPs and doctors who had been monitoring Wangchuk’s health during his fast were not allowed to meet him at Safdarjung Hospital.“Many MPs who had come to Safdarjung Hospital were not allowed to meet him. Dr Lamba and Dr Dighe, who were treating him for the past 20 days, told the court today that even the doctor giving treatment was not being allowed to meet the patient. We felt detention and captivity in that hospital,” she said.She said Wangchuk would be shifted to Medanta Hospital after the court issued its written order.The Delhi high court, while hearing an appeal filed by Angmo against a single judge’s refusal to permit Wangchuk’s transfer to a private hospital, observed that medical experts unanimously agreed that he required continuous monitoring. At the same time, the court said the concerns raised by Wangchuk about his stay at Safdarjung Hospital also needed to be considered.The division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia examined medical records and interacted with doctors from AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital and Wangchuk’s treating team before proposing the transfer.(With ANI inputs)
