Cong MP Jairam Ramesh asks PM Modi to deliver on promise of granting statehood to Ladakh

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Thursday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he has any intention of fulfilling his "Modi guarantee" to the people of Ladakh on granting them statehood and self-governance.

In a long post on X, Jairam Ramesh, also Congress general secretary, while taking a jibe at Modi said, "Since the prime minister has put off his Bhutan photo-ops today, we hope he can devote some time to Ladakh".

Modi's visit to Bhutan on Thursday has been rescheduled due to unfavorable weather conditions.

“Since February 3, when locals called for 'Ladakh Bandh', the people of Ladakh have been protesting in large numbers against the Modi government’s bureaucracy which has made a mockery of the local elected institutions elections,” Jairam said in the post in Hindi.

He also acknowledged climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s efforts to drawn the attention of the national and global community to the plight of the people of Ladakh.

“The courageous environmental activist Sonam Wangchuk has brought the agony of the people of Ladakh to national and global attention,” he said.

Further on in the post, he posed four questions for the PM from the people of Ladakh, starting with their demand of constitutional safeguards for the Union Territory of Ladakh, including statehood and inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

He noted that the BJP had promised Ladakh's inclusion in the Sixth Schedule in its manifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections and the 2020 Ladakh Hill Council Polls.

"Does the Prime Minister have any intention of upholding his "Modi guarantee?" If not, why did he make the promise in the first place? Ten years after he first took office, why is this issue still pending," he asked.

Ramesh also said that since the dissolution of the BJP-PDP Government in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in 2018, the people of Ladakh have had no representative government at the state-level.

"On August 5, 2019, by converting Ladakh into a separate Union Territory without a legislative assembly, the Modi government ended the prospects of any local governance for the people of Ladakh,” he said.

"What vision did the Prime Minister have for Ladakh when he declared it a separate Union Territory? Were the people of Ladakh ever consulted during the development of this vision," he asked.

Ramesh further alleged that under Prime Minister Modi's governance, "India has lost prime pasture land in the Changthang plains in the north of Ladakh to Chinese encroachment. In addition to a national security crisis, this is also a serious socio-economic issue for the nomads of Ladakh".

"But the prime minister gave a clean chit to China on June 19th, 2020, at the all-party meet on China, when he declared that not a single Chinese soldier had crossed over into Indian territory," he said.

Ramesh claimed that the proposed Ladakh Industrial Land Allotment Policy 2023 has suggested single-window clearance committees that have only government officials and an industry representative.

There are no Council members, civil society groups, and panchayat representatives in these committees, he claimed.

“The document does not even lay out the environmental or cultural criteria for considering an industrial project, nor does it provide for any public consultation,” he said.

In an ecologically sensitive region like Ladakh, populated by nomadic tribes and other sensitive demographic groups, what is the purpose of this proposed Land Allotment Policy? Is it yet another attempt by the Prime Minister to favour his industrialist friends at the expense of the people," Ramesh asked, using the hashtag "#ChuppiTodoPradhanMantriji".

Meanwhile, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk along with members of Ladakh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance continue their 21-day fast demanding safeguards to Ladakh under the sixth schedule of the Constitution and statehood from the Centre.

A high-powered committee (HPC) headed by Union minister Nityanand Rai had constituted a sub-committee to discuss the demands of 6th schedule, statehood and allied issues but the talks between the sub-committee and Centre have failed.