Sonam Wangchuk (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: Worker Sonam Wangchuk The Congress on Thursday doubled its support for the CPI(M) Janata Party (CJP) and rejected Ladakh Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena’s claim that he was unsure about the origins of the online movement. Wangchuk also questioned the LG’s publicizing of their recent meeting and said the tone of Saxena’s social media posts was in stark contrast to the cordial discussions he and his wife had with her.Recalling the meeting, Wangchuk said he was surprised by the message conveyed through Saxena’s post on X, which he described as a friendly and constructive discussion.He said, “I thought it was probably to please some boss somewhere in Delhi, who had instructed me to call and say such things, but there was no meeting like that, there was only a tweet.”The academic said he decided not to respond immediately and waited for several days before addressing the matter publicly.He said he deliberately avoided reacting to what he described as “childish behavior” and responded only after the comments were published by several newspapers.The exchange followed a post by Saxena on Tuesday after he met Wangchuk and his wife, HIAL co-founder Gitanjali J Angmo. In the post, the lieutenant governor said he had cautioned the activist against “weaving a misleading and provocative narrative” and claimed that Wangchuk had admitted that comparing Ladakh to Manipur was an “error of judgment.”Saxena also said that Wangchuk was unsure about the origins of the Cockroach Janata Party and had agreed to study the motivations of its founders before reconsidering his position if necessary.Rejecting those claims, Wangchuk said the meeting took place over tea and lasted for about an hour, in what he described as a warm and cordial atmosphere.“LG Ladakh invited us for a meeting over a cup of tea. We spent about an hour in a cordial and friendly atmosphere discussing his initiative, our work and possibilities of cooperation,” Wangchuk told news agency PTI.According to him, the Lieutenant Governor did talk about comparing Ladakh with Manipur and supporting the cockroach Janata Party, but no warning or reprimand was given during the discussion.“An hour after we left, we were surprised, and not a very pleasant one, to see that he had tweeted as if he had condemned us or cautioned us,” he said.Wangchuk also refuted Saxena’s claim that he had made the Manipur comparison a mistake.He said, “I don’t think it’s an error in my judgment. I still stand by it completely.” He also said that he had merely commented that using the example “could have been avoided” in these circumstances.“An avoidable error is very different from an error of judgment,” Wangchuk said.He also rejected suggestions that he had distanced himself from the cockroach Janata Party. According to Wangchuk, Saxena had described the movement as influenced by foreign powers and external funding sources, claims he neither accepted nor supported.He insisted, “I never said I was unsure about the origins and that I would reconsider my stance.”Wangchuk said the lieutenant governor had described the movement as “unfortunate” and accused it of being linked to organizations such as the Soros Foundation as well as countries including Pakistan and Bangladesh.He said, “Inwardly I was laughing at the story that he was telling to a person who was in jail under the NSA. You’re giving the same story to the person to whom it all happened,” he said.The Magsaysay Award winner reiterated his support for the online movement and described himself as a fan of its campaign.He said, “I’m a big fan of the Cockroach Party and I will remain so… I stand by what I said, I’m an honorary cockroach and I support it.”Wangchuk said that he had only expressed his willingness to review any evidence presented regarding the group’s origins and that such openness should not be interpreted as a withdrawal of support.In a direct appeal to the movement’s founder Abhijit Dipke, whom he called the ‘cockroach-in-chief’, Wangchuk said, “I am formally asking Mr Dipke to give me the figures.”Dipke, who founded the satirical social media platform that later grew into an online movement, has previously denied allegations of substantial foreign support. He shared audience data on X, claiming that more than 94 percent of the group’s followers are from India and rejected suggestions that its support base is dominated by foreign or Pakistani users.Wangchuk said making such data public would help resolve the debate.He commented, “If it is an Indian youth initiative with foreign followers, I become an even bigger fan and supporter… Even if 70 per cent are from India and the rest are spread across many countries, it at least makes India the world leader in constructive protest.”In his first post, Saxena said both sides had agreed that an “atmosphere of positivity” should prevail in Ladakh and cautioned that the protests seen in the Union Territory last year could harm tourism and economic activities.The exchange came soon after discussions between representatives of Ladakh and a sub-committee of the Home Ministry. In previous interviews, Wangchuk had expressed concern that Ladakh risked moving towards a division similar to Manipur, though he later said recent talks had helped improve the atmosphere.