Sonam Wangchuk’s wife: Can government intervene in citizens’ right to choose own treatment

She raised a larger question: “Does a citizen of this country not have the right to choose their own treatment — which doctor they want to consult, which hospital they want to be admitted to — and can the government intervene in that choice?”

Angmo further added, “If the government was really worried about his health, why did they not bring a team of doctors to conduct the tests at Jantar Mantar itself, and only move him to a hospital if there was a genuine risk? The way he was removed from there is illegal. So the question I want to ask is — is Bharat really a democracy?”

As the High Court’s order did not provide immediate relief to Wangchuk, Angmo said, “We will file an appeal before a divisional bench tomorrow (July 20).”

Meanwhile, Dr Prof. Manisha Thakur, HOD, Medicine at Safdarjung Hospital, on Sunday said
that Wangchuk’s vital parameters were stable and his blood parameters had shown marginal improvement. She added that Wangchuk, however, needed round-the-clock medical care and monitoring.

On the health updates being shared with the family, she told The Indian Express, “When Dr DK and Dr Lamba were monitoring him, for the past 20 days, we used to get his health updates every day. But since Wangchuk has been brought here (Safdarjung Hospital), there have been no regular updates given to us. His exact vitals are not being shared with us transparently or on time. Owing to these lapses, we wanted to move him to a hospital that we trust, and which can provide all these facilities smoothly.”

She likened the situation to a “detention without any formal order,” drawing a parallel to Wangchuk’s 170-day detention in Jodhpur. Angmo said around “30 to 40 police personnel remained constantly present on their floor, keeping vigil over them, and that she was not permitted to carry her phone inside, while Wangchuk himself had been denied even his Samsung tablet, which he uses to study”. She added that a police constable was sometimes present in the room while she spoke with Wangchuk.

On the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) planned march to Parliament from Jantar Mantar on July 20, she said, “The government moved Sonam to a government hospital because they knew the movement would grow much bigger with him at Jantar Mantar. But they did not realise the movement would get double the support after they illegally detained him. Sonam has urged everyone to carry out the march peacefully. Education is the foundation of any country’s development. If we want to become Vishwa Guru, we have to work for the education of our children. The education system, which has been broken, needs to be fixed for our country to reap its demographic dividend, and to produce innovators and entrepreneurs.”

She went on to say, “ If they had allowed Sonam to be shifted to Medanta Hospital, he would have joined the protest, but the government did not allow that. So I will represent Sonam at the march tomorrow (July 20).”

Angmo also issued an advisory to participants of the march, urging them “to be aware of nefarious elements who want to jeopardise the protest, and to remain peaceful at all times.”