Ladakh violence needs to be handled with sensitivity: Opposition

New Delhi: As violence erupted in Ladakh over statehood and other demands, opposition parties on Wednesday said it needs to be handled with sensitivity and a clinical analysis needs to be done on the ground to identify the reasons and those behind the violence.

The left, however, attacked the Modi government for being "responsible" for the violence.

Congress MP and party's senior spokesperson Manish Tewari said Ladakh is a border Union Territory and the standoff with China is not really yet over, notwithstanding the multiple disengagements.

"It needs to be handled with sensitivity and a forensic examination of why and how a peaceful protest suddenly turned violent.

"A clinical analysis of the ground situation is imperative, especially identification of the impulses that went in that turned the protest violent and who really are these violent protesters," Tewari said in a post on X.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the situation in the Leh town should be an eye-opener on how people of Jammu and Kashmir feel about the denial of statehood, even though Ladakh had not been promised one.

He was reacting after the movement for statehood to Ladakh descended into violence, arson and street clashes here on Wednesday, leaving four people dead and at least 45 injured, including 22 police personnel.

"Ladakh wasn't even promised Statehood, they celebrated UT status in 2019 & they feel betrayed & angry," Abdullah posted on his X handle.

"Now try to imagine how betrayed & disappointed we in J&K feel when the promise of statehood to J&K remains unfulfilled even though we have gone about demanding it democratically, peacefully & responsibly," he added.

Former chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said the situation in Ladakh has made it imperative that the Centre move beyond day-to-day crisis management and address the root cause of the problems.

"It's time the Government of India undertakes a sincere and thorough appraisal of what has truly changed since 2019. This video isn't from the Kashmir Valley considered the epicentre of unrest but from the heart of Ladakh, where angry protesters have set police vehicles and a BJP office on fire," she said in a post on X.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP and leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said she could never imagine that a peace-loving area like Ladakh could erupt into violence and urged the government to engage with the people there.

"I would have never imagined that the peace loving people of Ladakh would ever choose violence to have their demands heard. It is saddening to read about the protestors taking law into their own hands for their demand for statehood and the inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule.

"GoI needs to engage people in a dialogue rather than turn a blind eye from Manipur to now Ladakh," the Shiv Sena leader said.

The BJP has alleged that the violence in Ladakh was part of the Congress' "nefarious design" to create situations similar to those in Bangladesh, Nepal and the Philippines.

"Today in Ladakh, an attempt was made to portray some protests as being led by 'Gen Z' but when an investigation was carried out, it was found that this was not a Gen Z protest but actually a Congress protest," BJP MP and national spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters at the party headquarters here.

"The Congress has a nefarious design. It's Congress' conspiracy. 'Bharat tere tukde honge Inshallah, Inshallah' is the Congress' main line. This is Rahul Gandhi's plan with George Soros. Since they cannot win through the people, they conspire to break the country," he charged.

In a statement on the growing protests in Ladakh over the demand for statehood and the Sixth Schedule, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation accused the Modi government of disregarding the Constitution.

"The Modi government's policies of disregarding the Constitution, continuously attacking federalism, and depriving people of democratic rights to strengthen its authoritarian grip on this region are entirely responsible for this entire situation.

"The Modi government arbitrarily revoked Article 370 in 2019 and divided Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories. The demand for statehood has been consistently raised by the people of both Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Yet, the BJP government led by Modi has turned a blind eye to the people's democratic aspirations," it said

Climate activist and teacher Sonam Wangchuk, whose hunger strike at Leh's NDS Ground has entered its 15th day, is appealing to the government to listen to the people of Ladakh. The health of several activists sitting on hunger strike with him is deteriorating, which indicates the seriousness of the situation, it said.

In addition to the democratic aspirations of the people of Ladakh, another serious concern is to save Ladakh from the "looting of land and resources by corporations", as is being seen in other hilly regions across the country, it said.

"This unprecedented event of downgrading a region from statehood to a Union Territory has stripped people of their right to participate in self-determination and planning processes.

"We call upon the government to respect the democratic aspirations of the people of Ladakh, initiate immediate dialogue with them, and ensure statehood along with inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution," the CPI-ML said.

The statehood for Ladakh movement descended into violence, arson and street clashes here on Wednesday, leaving four people dead and at least 59 injured, including 22 police personnel, officials said.

As the sun set on what is arguably the worst day of violence since 1989 in the cold desert region, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk called off his fortnight-long hunger strike to press for statehood and extension of the Sixth Schedule to Ladakh, while authorities clamped curfew in the Leh district.

Groups of youths, indulging in arson and vandalism, targeted the headquarters of the BJP and the Hill Council and set ablaze vehicles.

Police and paramilitary forces, deployed in strength across the town, lobbed teargas shells to bring the situation under control, the officials said.

With at least six of those injured in a critical condition, there are fears the death toll could go up.