LEH: Asserting that the people of Ladakh feel insecure in terms of culture, land and employment opportunities after the region’s reorganisation into an union territory, senior Congress leader from Ladakh Tsering Namgail has demanded that government of India must respect the aspirations of people of the region and include Ladakh into the sixth schedule of the constitution.
Hitting out strongly at BJP for ‘backtracking’ on what is the common demand of every Ladakhi, Namgail said that the saffron party leaders are now ‘not permitted’ to speak in favour of the sixth schedule.
In a freewheeling discussion with Indus Dispatch, Namgail, also the leader of opposition in the LAHDC Leh, spoke in detail about the changes Ladakh has undergone in three years as Union Territory, the fears and aspiration of people, and the shift in BJP’s stand on sixth schedule.
“Ladakh has a separate identity, its own way of life which has to be protected. When Ladakh was a part of Jammu and Kashmir, the non-residents couldn’t come and buy land or get jobs in Ladakh, courtesy Article 370. After it became a union territory, sans the required safeguards, Ladakhi people are afraid. They now feel insecure in terms of culture, land, employment opportunities, and ecology,” said the councillor from Lower Leh.
Besides, Ladakh is a strategically important destination for the country and the central government must ensure its protection in all aspects, said Namgail.
“The Government of India must listen to what the people of Ladakh want, and they want the 6th schedule of the Constitution,” he emphasises.
He claims that all of Ladakh stands on one page in demanding the sixth schedule, except BJP.
“The Panches and Sarpanches, the businessmen, hoteliers, transport associations, travel agents, the civil society and even the religious bodies in both Leh and Kargil are united in demanding the sixth schedule. The entire Ladakh is on one page, except the BJP,” says Namgail.
He says that BJP was one of the vocal supporters for the sixth schedule and the party has fought a number of elections on the same issue.
“They fought the parliamentary election, the council elections on these issues. Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal himself gave a representation to home minister Amit Shah demanding the sixth schedule. However, down the line, they stopped talking about the sixth schedule. They backtracked,” he says.
When asked for the possible reason for BJP’s shifting in stance on sixth schedule, Namgail says, “They have been stopped. They went quiet. There is pressure on them to not favour the demand.”
Asked about the future of agitation, Namgail says that at grassroots level, there is anguish among people against the BJP.
“The people of Ladakh are not happy with the present establishment, or the BJP leaders. They doubt their policies and their intentions. The BJP has been exposed before the public,” he said.
When asked if the leaders across political beliefs should sit together and chalk a way out, Namgail says that Ladakh has discussed the issue enough.
“We have discussed this a lot. The BJP has done its fair share of discussions. People of Ladakh know that the sixth schedule is the best for them. Even the BJP leaders know that the sixth schedule is best suited to Ladakh, but they don’t have the permission to speak out,” says Namgail.
“If the BJP wants to ruin Ladakh, do it. The Ladakhis will have money and comfort for a short while, but they will be ruined in the longer run. But this will not be good for Ladakh and this will not be good for India,” he says.
Namgail asked the BJP leaders to listen to people’s sentiments and leave the politics aside.
“We have political ideologies differences. But we are all Ladakhis. We have to unite for the future of Ladakh and the future of Ladakh lies in the sixth schedule of the Constitution,” he says.
