Had no option but to sack Nazir Ahmed , says Ladakh BJP chief

74-year-old Nazir Ahmed was expelled from the party post and primary membership of the BJP on Wednesday after his son eloped with a Buddhist woman

The president of the Ladakh unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Phunchok Stanzin, on Friday said, elopement of party’s former vice president’s son with a Buddhist woman may put Ladakh over the edge after Dalai Lama’s visit gets over on August 25.

Nazir Ahmed has already clarified that his son Manzoor Ahmed went against the family and married the girl. He said his expulsion was a grave injustice with him. (HT)

“Sensing trouble, we were left with no option but to expel the vice president Nazir Ahmed from the party post and primary membership, said Stanzin.

74-year-old Nazir Ahmed was expelled from the party post and primary membership of the BJP on Wednesday after his son eloped with a Buddhist woman.

“Nazir Ahmed was given sufficient time to take action and return the woman to his family. It was over a month now. The development has all the ingredients to disrupt communal harmony in Ladakh. We asked him to persuade his son but there was not fruitful response from him,” said Stanzin.

“We have no complaints against Nazir Ahmed but we felt that because of one individual the communal harmony should not get vitiated in the region. Therefore, we were compelled to take such a step,” said the BJP president.

“His holiness Dalai Lama, who is here, will return on August 25, and thereafter we suspect widespread protests in Ladakh. Nazir Ahmed was a good leader of the party but we had to take this step.. we had no option. There is grave resentment among Buddhist community and we had a lot of pressure on us,” he said.

Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA), it may be stated, is a dominant body in the region.

Stanzin recalled how the region was embroiled in protests and communal disharmony following an inter-faith marriage in 2017 between a Shia man and a Buddhist woman.

Long ago LBA and Muslim bodies in the region have mutually agreed upon agreements of not having inter-faith marriages and indulge in acts that harm communal harmony in the region,” he said.

The BJP chief also feigned ignorance about the couple getting married.

“We are not clear whether they have got married but we do anticipate that after Dalai Lama returns on August 25, there may be unrest and trouble in Ladakh,” said Stanzin.

Nazir Ahmed has already clarified that his son Manzoor Ahmed went against the family and married the girl. He said his expulsion was a grave injustice with him.