2 min readSrinagarUpdated: May 29, 2026 07:23 AM IST
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk on Thursday responded to Ladakh Lieutenant Governor’s comments “warning” him against repeated rallies and protests following his “honorary cockroach” remark.
In a video statement issued late Thursday, Wangchuk said it seems that the L-G’s comments were intended to “impress bosses in Delhi”.
He stressed that if the L-G is keen on creating an environment of mutual trust for constructive dialogue in Ladakh, “He should engage in peace building and trust building.”
After a meeting with Sonam Wangchuk and his wife Gitanjali Angmo at Lok Niwas on Tuesday, L-G Vinai Kumar Saxena had said that he had urged Wangchuk to reconsider his statements on the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP, a satirical and viral social media movement) and to “abjure from weaving a misleading and provocative narrative, which vitiates public discourse”.
On Thursday, Wangchuk said his meeting with the L-G had taken place in a conducive atmosphere, and that he was surprised by the statement the L-G made afterwards. “During our meeting, he brought up his concerns around the CJP. I informed him that I consider this (CJP) a creative expression and the government should not feel insecure about it, but should hear them out.”
Wangchuk went on to say that the L-G explained that “the CJP is a foreign conspiracy with fewer members from India than from abroad. That they were being run from Pakistan, Bangladesh and America.”
“What the L-G didn’t realise was that he was saying these things to the person who had been arrested under the NSA about eight months back on similar charges. Similar stories were constructed about my ‘links’ with Pakistan, China or the Soros foundation,” Wangchuk said.
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He went on to say that if “it is indeed proven that the majority of CJP supporters are from abroad” then he would reconsider his support. However, he added that even if 70% of the CJP members — those who have joined the social media movement — are from India, then, “I would say that at least in the sphere of creative expression and protest, India is a vishwaguru.”
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