Ladakh unrest: Jairam accuses Centre of betraying people

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Friday said the people of Ladakh, who once welcomed the creation of the Union Territory with great expectations, are today consumed by “disappointment and disenchantment” because the Centre has failed to honour their legitimate aspirations.

In a post on X, Ramesh wrote: “Six years ago, the people of Ladakh had great expectations when the Union Territory of Ladakh was created. But there has been massive disappointment and disenchantment as they have seen their land and employment rights under severe threat, the local administration and elected bodies taken over by the L-G and the bureaucracy, and only meetings after meetings on their legitimate demands for protection under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and the establishment of an elected legislature. There has been no concrete outcome.”

He also flagged the external dimension of the crisis, citing “the great uncertainty caused by China’s unilateral abrogation of the status quo on the Line of Actual Control” and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “June 19, 2020 clean chit to China.”

“Ladakh is of profound cultural, economic, ecological, and strategic importance to India,” Ramesh stressed, adding that its people “have, at all times, been proud Indians to their very core.” He urged the Centre to move beyond consultations and ensure Ladakhis’ “legitimate aspirations are fulfilled in full measure at the very earliest.”

Meanwhile, the Congress also hit back at the BJP for circulating images of a man allegedly involved in the violence, claiming he was Congress councillor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag. Party spokesperson Pawan Khera on Friday said: “Several leaders of the BJP and some anchors/social media influencers have been showing a picture and footage of someone, and misrepresenting him as the elected councillor of Congress – Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag.”

He added: “We are proceeding with legal recourse and criminal proceedings against all those who have not just attempted to defame our party but have also tried to cause social unrest to fuel further dissensions. Instead of sensitively engaging with the betrayed people of Ladakh, the BJP and their media/social media minions are engaging in their usual mudslinging and looking for an opportunity to milk the outrage of Ladakh and settle scores with political opponents.”

BJP’s in-charge of national information and technology, Amit Malviya, had shared the image earlier, alleging: “This man rioting in Ladakh is Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag, Congress Councillor for Upper Leh Ward. He can be clearly seen instigating the mob and participating in violence that targeted the BJP office and the Hill Council. Is this the kind of unrest Rahul Gandhi has been fantasising about?”