'Everyone gone, now no hope': Sonam Wangchuk says CJP leaders wanted to end protest after July 20 crackdown

Wangchuk, speaking to Prakhar Gupta on the PGX podcast, said CJP's leadership was deeply demoralised after the action and had asked him to help craft a message encouraging protesters to leave Jantar Mantar and return home.

Sonam Wangchuk has revealed that Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) members were looking for a way to end their protest after a police crackdown at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on July 20, when the movement's stage was dismantled and many protesters left the site.

“Now everyone has gone, our stage has also been broken, now there is no hope,” Wangchuk recalled the CJP leadership telling him after the July 20 action.

According to Wangchuk, the organisers wanted him to post a message telling protesters that they were tired and should take a break.

“They wanted me to post something saying that you need a good rest now, go sleep at home, don't stay at Jantar Mantar, we can see tomorrow what to do,” he said.

Wangchuk said he did write such a message, although it was ultimately not posted.

CJP leadership was ‘very disappointed’, says Wangchuk The July 20 crackdown came after a large mobilisation around the protest. Wangchuk said the immediate aftermath left the CJP leadership believing that the movement had effectively collapsed.

“Everyone thought that whatever one or two lakh people had come, they had all left that night, so everything was over,” he said.

He said the organisers were in a situation where they believed the protest might never resume.

“Now if it starts again sometime, then it starts; otherwise not,” Wangchuk recalled.