NEW DELHI: Gitanjali J. Angmo, educationist, social entrepreneur and wife of activist Sonam Wangchuk, has launched a scathing attack on Congress, accusing of staging an “insincere” protest over the ongoing student movement.
In an interview with media, Angmo dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s July 21 flash protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence as political symbolism that failed to stand with students where it mattered.
“The protest outside the Prime Minister’s house lacked sincerity. It would have been more sincere if it had been done by joining hands at Jantar Mantar. The public cannot be fooled anymore. This is an awakened India,” she said.
Her remarks come days after Rahul Gandhi and several senior Congress leaders staged a sit-in near 7, Lok Kalyan Marg to protest the alleged crackdown on students during their march towards Parliament. The Congress leadership was detained during the demonstration, with dramatic visuals showing Rahul Gandhi being removed by security personnel.
However, Angmo suggested that such political gestures failed to match the authenticity of the students’ movement. Angmo asserted that the ongoing agitation had fundamentally changed public expectations from political leaders.
“The awakened India movement has shown every political functionary that they now have to walk the talk. They cannot gaslight or be insincere anymore. They have to be sincere; otherwise, they will be thrown out by this young generation that understands what it has to do and what it has to stand for,” she said.
She argued that attempts by political parties to appropriate the movement would ultimately fail because the agitation had emerged independently and was rooted in public conviction rather than partisan politics.
Describing the movement as strictly non-partisan, Angmo said its objective was to compel Parliament to treat education and examination reforms as a national priority. “For us, there is no opposition, there is no government. Parliament is the highest institution. We want Parliament to look at education as the fundamental issue,” she said.
She maintained that individuals from any political background were welcome to support the cause, provided they did so without partisan agendas. “Whoever comes with their own agendas will fall by the wayside because this movement is born out of sincerity and purity,” she remarked.
In a separate post on X, Angmo expressed concern over what she described as attempts to malign students participating in the movement. “As an educator, I find it deeply painful to watch the image of our students being tarnished in the media,” she wrote.
She emphasised that the students’ demonstration at Jantar Mantar had remained peaceful and urged people not to attribute incidents of violence elsewhere in Delhi to the movement without evidence. “Our children deserve to be protected, not portrayed as villains. Their voices deserve to be heard, not drowned out by narratives that serve vested interests,” she stated.
