E-Paper
Rahul Gandhi pins Leh violence on BJP-RSS, backs demand: 'Give Ladakh a voice'
He alleged that Ladakh's people and culture are under attack by the ruling BJP and its parent body RSS
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has reacted to violent protests in Leh, in which four young persons were killed last week, by backing their demand for special rights and protections for tribal areas, on Sunday.
He alleged that Ladakh's people and culture are under attack by the ruling BJP and its parent body RSS.
"Ladakhis asked for a voice. The BJP responded by killing 4 young men and jailing Sonam Wangchuk," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha posted on X.
“Stop the killing. Stop the violence. Stop the intimidation,” Rahul Gandhi added.
"Give Ladakh a voice. Give them the 6th Schedule," he wrote.
The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution gives special rights and powers to tribal areas, and is currently in force in some northeastern states. People in Ladakh have been demanding this, too, as they lost protections for land rights when the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two UTs in 2019.
The protest has been on since, largely peaceful, but turned violent on Wednesday, September 24.
Activist Sonam Wangchuk, arrested on Friday and jailed in Rajasthan's Jodhpur, is among 50-odd people who have been taken into custody for alleged involvement in rioting. He is the main face of the demands. Wangchuk had condemned the violence and ended his hunger strike as a mark of disgust.
The Centre, which governs the UT, has said Wangchuk provoked the violence with speeches referring to the “Gen-Z” protests in Nepal and Bangladesh.
Wangchuk's wife said on Sunday that the violence was triggered by the paramilitary forces who, she alleged, fired teargas shells into a peaceful crowd.
Curfew, meanwhile, remained in force in Leh for the fifth consecutive day on Sunday, with Lt Governor Kavinder Gupta set to hold a security review meeting to take a call on the relaxation in the restrictions, officials said.
The violent confrontation between protesters and security forces took place on Wednesday during a shutdown called by the Leh Apex Body (LAB) to advance talks with the Centre on the issue for statehood and extension of the Sixth Schedule to Ladakh.
On Saturday, curfew was relaxed in Leh for four hours.
