After violent protests in Ladakh left four dead and 90 injured, Congress said the anguish of locals must awaken the government’s conscience. The party demanded urgent action to safeguard Ladakh’s land, jobs, and rights under the Sixth Schedule, stressing that people’s aspirations must be met without delay
Security personnel check a vehicle during a curfew after recent protests for statehood turned violent. Pic/PTI
Amid the intensified protest in Ladakh that caused human and infrastructural loss in the last few days, Congress on Friday said the distress and anguish of the people of Ladakh must awaken the government's conscience. Congress also emphasised that it is not just about the talks but about actually fulfilling their legitimate aspirations in full measure at the very earliest.
An uneasy calm prevailed in Ladakh on Thursday, as police and paramilitary troops strictly enforced a curfew in Leh town, a day after protests for statehood turned violent, reported PTI.
As reported by news agency PTI, the opposition party's assertion comes after protests for statehood turned violent on Wednesday. The protest that turned violent also took the lives of four people and left 90 others injured.
Moreover, the Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said that six years ago, the people of Ladakh had great expectations when the Union Territory of Ladakh was created. However, there has been massive disappointment and disenchantment among the people of Ladakh.
Jairam Ramesh further said that “the people of Ladakh have seen their land and employment rights under severe threat,” as cited by news agency PTI.
He further added, “They have also seen the local administration and elected bodies taken over by the LG and the bureaucracy.”
Underlining the demands of the people across the union territory, he further said, “The people have seen only meetings after meetings on their legitimate demands for protection under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and for an elected legislature,” as per PTI.
Ramesh also said there was "great uncertainty" caused by China's unilateral abrogation of the status quo on the Line of Actual Control and the "PM's June 19, 2020, clean chit to China".
While asserting about the Union territory, Ramesh highlighted that “Ladakh is of profound cultural, economic, ecological, and strategic importance to India. The people of Ladakh have, at all times, been proud Indians to their very core. Their distress and anguish must awaken the Government of India's conscience – not just for even more talks but for actually fulfilling their legitimate aspirations in FULL measure at the very earliest."
At least 50 people have been detained so far in connection with the violence that broke out on Wednesday during the shutdown called by Leh Apex Body (LAB) to demand an extension of the Sixth Schedule and statehood for Ladakh.
(With inputs from PTI)
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