Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk on Thursday told the Supreme Court that he has a democratic right to criticise the government and that such statements do not threaten national security, Bar and Bench reported. Lawyer Kapil Sibal, representing Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo, made the argument while challenging the activist’s detention under the National Security Act. Wangchuk was detained on September 26 after protests in Leh demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. “All the statements relied upon are verbal statements,” Sibal was quoted as saying by Bar and Bench. Sibal quoted Wangchuk as having said that a government that did not have affection for citizens and did not care for the environment was “an obstacle in the progress of the nation”, the legal news outlet reported.