Ladakh violence over statehood | Oppn slams BJP, accuses it of repressive measures

New Delhi: The Opposition on Thursday attacked the ruling BJP for violence in Ladakh, accusing it of turning its face away from the demands for statehood and Constitutional protection and unleashing “repressive measures” on protesting people.

As the Modi government blamed activist Sonam Wangchuk for the violence in Ladakh on Wednesday, the parties said the developments were a result of the ruling BJP’s “shortsightedness” and demanded that talks should be initiated to address the concerns.

Emphasising that the demands were “legitimate and just” and it “deserves not neglect, but compassion and statesmanship”, Congress Media and Publicity Department Chairman Pawan Khera called the loss of “precious lives” as “tragic” and a “grim reminder” of the government’s “failed promises”.

He said from the floor of Parliament in 2019, the ruling BJP had “assured the nation that the humiliation being inflicted on the people of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir then would usher in peace”.

“Six years later, the trouble has only deepened. Far from restoring normalcy in the valley, the Centre’s shortsightedness has pushed Jammu and Ladakh also into an incinerator of violence. This crisis is the BJP government’s own creation – one it now seeks to unfairly ignore,” he said.

Asking whether one gained independence from the British to become the “slaves of the BJP", AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal said the BJP is “intoxicated by power” and turning one state after another into a union territory, “snatching away” the rights granted by the Constitution.

Emphasising that the people of Ladakh are “only asking for their right to vote, the right to choose their government”, he claimed the BJP is “suppressing” their voice.

“Despite repeated promises, they are not being given the right to vote…and when the government starts suppressing that very voice, it is the duty of the people to speak even louder. If we are to save the country's democracy, we can no longer remain silent against this dictatorship. Today, Ladakh's fight could become the fight of the entire country tomorrow,” he added.

Condemning the “brutal repression" unleashed by the Ladakh administration, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau said people had launched a peaceful protest “frustrated by the government’s callous disregard” for their “legitimate demands”.

Instead of engaging in meaningful dialogue, it said the government chose to respond with “forceful arrests”, which only led to widespread protests and unrest among the people.

“Even after creating the circumstances which are responsible for this violence in a traditionally peaceful place, the central government is now blaming the agitators,” it said.

CPI(ML)L said the protests in Ladakh reflect the “growing anger against years of suppression” of people's rights and demands. “Besides the democratic aspirations of the people in Ladakh, another matter of grave concern is the protection of Ladakh from corporate plunder of land and resources, as seen in other hilly regions across the country,” it said.