Leh: Activist Sonam Wangchuk on Thursday responded to a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into alleged violations of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act ( FCRA) by his organisation, stating that it did not seek foreign funding because it had no intention of “begging from foreign countries.”
Wangchuk’s comments followed the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) probe into his organisation over the alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA).
While speaking to ANI, Wangchuk clarified the nature of the funds, emphasising that they were “not foreign donations” but fees for services rendered.
“A day later (after Leh protests), the Home Ministry of India issued a press release naming Sonam Wangchuk in it and blaming him… I had received a notice about a CBI inquiry stating that your organisation received foreign funding even when it did not have an FCRA. We did not get FCRA because we don’t want funds from abroad,” Wangchuk said.
He further explained that the organisation had received fees from foreign entities “in exchange for sharing knowledge” about their innovative projects.
“The United Nations team wanted to take our Passive Solar Heated Building to Afghanistan, and for this, they gave us a fee. We also got fees with tax from Swiss and Italian organisations for supplying knowledge to them about our artificial glaciers,” he added.
Wangchuk also confirmed that his organisation was under scrutiny from the Income Tax department, with a summons issued in relation to the foreign transactions.
He expressed frustration over what he termed a “witch hunt,” saying that the recent developments were the latest chapter in a series of attacks targeting him personally.
“We are getting I-T summons. In the series of witch hunting, yesterday’s events were the last and all blame was put on Sonam Wangchuk,” he stated.
Earlier, the Home Ministry pinned the blame for Wednesday’s violent protests in Leh over the implementation of the 6th schedule on Wangchuk.
The MHA is a statement that said, “Activist Sonam Wangchuk began a hunger strike on September 10, demanding the 6th Schedule and statehood for Ladakh. It is well known that the Government of India has been actively engaged with the Apex Body Leh and the Kargil Democratic Alliance on the same issues. A series of meetings was held with them through the formal channels of the High-Powered Committee, as well as the Sub-committee, and multiple informal meetings with leaders.”
“The process of dialogue through this mechanism has yielded phenomenal results by increasing reservations for the Ladakh scheduled tribe from 45% to 84%, providing 1/3 women’s reservations in the councils and declaring Bhoti and Purgi as official languages. With this process, the recruitment of 1800 posts was also commenced. However, certain politically motivated individuals were unhappy with the progress made under HPC and have been attempting to sabotage the dialogue process,” the MHA further said.
The MHA stated that in spite of many leaders urging to call off the hunger strike, Wangchuk continued with the hunger strike and misled the people through provocative mentions of Arab Spring-style protests and references to Gen Z protests in Nepal.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday cancelled the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) licence of innovator and education reformist Sonam Wangchuk’s Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) over alleged violations of the act.
The cancellation means the Leh-based institute will no longer be able to receive or utilise foreign funding.
Officials said the decision followed a review of compliance records as Wangchuk, during Financial Year 2021-22, deposited Rs 3.5 lakh into the FCRA account of the association in violation of section 17 of the Act.–(ANI)
