New Delhi: In an offshoot of sorts of his Bharat Jodo Yatra, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is in Ladakh to interact with locals and “understand” the region in the aftermath of reading down of Article 370 that split the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.On Saturday, August 19, Gandhi embarked on a motorcycle ride from Leh to Pangong Lake, where he commemorated his father, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s birth anniversary on Sunday, August 20.In a post on Instagram on Saturday, Gandhi wrote: “On our way to Pangong Lake, which my father used to say, is one of the most beautiful places in the world.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rahul Gandhi (@rahulgandhi)Speaking to reporters at Pangong Lake after the short commemorative event, Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of lying.“During the Bharat Jodo Yatra I wanted to come to Ladakh but due to some logistical reasons I could not. I thought I’ll come and listen to what the people have to say. Over here the concern is the land that has been taken away by China and people here have been affected by it in a big way because their grazing lands have been taken away.”When asked about the Modi government’s claim that no one has entered India from China in Ladakh, Gandhi said that the people here claim otherwise.“People here are saying that the Chinese army have entered here. They’re saying that their grazing lands have been taken away and they cannot go there anymore. People are clearly saying this here. PM said not an inch of land has been taken away but that is not true. You can ask anyone here.”Gandhi, who arrived in Leh on Thursday, August 17, for a two-day visit to the union territory extended the trip by five days on Friday.Visit to ‘interact’ with locals, ‘understanding’ LadakhNasir Munshi, district Congress president, Kargil, told The Wire that Gandhi’s visit to Ladakh was considered during his Bharat Jodo Yatra.“He was intending to visit this area but he couldn’t because of the harsh climatic conditions during winter. So (now) he wants to interact with the people and especially the youth of this area about how they feel after the abrogation of Article 370,” he said.Tsering Namgyal, Congress leader and leader of opposition in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC)-Leh told The Wire that the visit should not however be seen as a part of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.“This is not exactly part of Bharat Jodo Yatra. We (local unit) had suggested earlier to him to do a small leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra here in Leh, a walk of 4-7 kms. But His Holiness Dalai Lama is here now and we did not want to disturb his ongoing teaching sessions in any way, so we decided to shelve that.“This (trip) has nothing to do with the Bharat Jodo Yatra or 2024 election agenda. It’s more of a trip to understand Ladakh and interact with people and get a sense of Ladakh after the 2019 union territory status declaration,” he said.Namgyal said that while Gandhi was earlier meant to visit for two days, he extended his trip after arriving in Leh.“He had been wanting to come to Ladakh for quite some time and interact and meet the people but that did not materialise. Initially, he had planned to be here for two days. But once he got here he decided to extend the trip and decided to bike to Pangong and Nubra..,” he said.On Friday, Gandhi watched a football match in Leh.#WATCH | Congress MP Rahul Gandhi watches a football match in Leh during his two-day visit to Ladakh pic.twitter.com/bagVZY2m4L— ANI (@ANI) August 18, 2023Later, he interacted with the youth at an event in the city, where according to the local Congress unit, around 450 people were present at the event.“India got freedom in 1947 and the foundation of freedom in India is the Constitution. The Constitution is a set of rules… How do you put the Constitution into action? The way you put the Constitution into action is by setting up institutions that support the vision of the Constitution. The Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, Planning Commission, forces – all these elements,” Gandhi was quoted as saying in a clip of the event posted on X (formerly Twitter) by ANI.#WATCH | Congress MP Rahul Gandhi interacts with the youth at an event in Leh during his two-day visit to Ladakh pic.twitter.com/Q23hyC4pkc— ANI (@ANI) August 18, 2023“What the BJP-RSS is doing now is, it is placing its own people in key parts of institutional structure. If you go to the ministers in the government and ask them, ‘Are you actually making the decisions in your ministries?’ They will tell you there is an OSD [officer on special duty] from the RSS who we have to work with to decide what happens in our ministry,” he said.Namgyal said that Gandhi’s visit does not have a political agenda, but is meant to focus on understanding the people of Ladakh.“There is no political agenda as such but he wanted to come to Ladakh and be here for some time. He will be visiting Nubra Valley as well. Today [Saturday], he is in Pangong. Tomorrow [Sunday], there is a small event to commemorate Rajiv Gandhi’s birthday.”Namgyal said that while there is no interaction with party workers on the agenda in Leh, he will interact with locals.“He might interact with villagers, youths, and farmers along the Pangong-Nubra route,” he said.Public rally in Kargil ahead of LAHDC elections Gandhi’s visit comes as the LAHDC-Kargil is set to go to the polls on September 10.The hill councils of Leh and Kargil became the highest elected bodies in Ladakh after it was separated from Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019. Both bodies have 26 elected members and four nominated members.The hill council for Leh came into existence in 1995, while the council for Kargil district was formed in 2003.While the LAHDC-Kargil has the National Conference in power, the BJP is ruling the LAHDC in Leh.For the upcoming hill council elections in Kargil, the Congress has joined hands with the National Conference.Munshi said that the decision to join hands is in line with the INDIA alliance of 26 parties formed at the national level.“It is an impact of the national alliance INDIA. While both the parties were rivals earlier, now we have joined hands to keep the communal parties at bay and we will contest the polls jointly,” he said.Gandhi’s public rally address in Kargil on August 25 will focus on the upcoming elections.“After the abrogation (of Article 370), we have been having so many problems relating to unemployment. There were reservations for locals, which have been abolished. We also fear a demographic change as land is no longer with the council and people from outside will come and settle here.“We have a unique culture and environment and we don’t want an external impact on our unique environment and culture. We don’t have a legislature, we are completely under the bureaucracy and there is no say of any public representative. We want a separate state of Ladakh-these are the common agendas for Leh and Kargil. The Kargil Democratic Agenda has been demanding implementation of the Sixth Schedule in Ladakh but the government is neglecting all our demands and we are hopeless,” he said.Under the Sixth Schedule, the autonomous district and regional councils have specific legislative, executive, judicial, and financial powers in the states of Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, and Assam.Talks have been held between the leadership in Ladakh and the Union government as the demand has gained momentum in the Union territory, especially in Leh, with protests earlier this year including thousands rallying behind Sonam Wangchuk, innovator and Magsaysay Award recipient who observed two rounds of fast to press for the demand.“That is why we are jointly demanding this (Sixth Schedule rights) and we hope that Rahul Gandhi will raise all these issues in parliament, so that the people of the country know the difficulties of the people of Ladakh,” said Munshi.‘Why does the Congress hate Ladakh?’Meanwhile, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, BJP MP from Ladakh, while welcoming the Congress MP to Leh on Thursday accused his party of betraying Ladakh’s dreams for a separate union territory.The BJP MP said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) that the successive Congress governments at the Centre had “ignored” Ladakh’s calls to be made a separate Union Territory.Welcome, Sh. @RahulGandhi Ji to LehCongress betrayed Ladakh’s dreams for a separate UT, ignoring our aspirations. Now, their alliance with Gupkar Gang and attempt to restore Art. 370 raises questions about their intentions.Why does INC hate Ladakh?https://t.co/8nptSVq4Hh pic.twitter.com/xNsUOGRXc0— Jamyang Tsering Namgyal (@jtnladakh) August 17, 2023“Congress betrayed Ladakh’s dreams for a separate UT, ignoring our aspirations. Now, their alliance with Gupkar Gang and attempt to restore Art. 370 raises questions about their intentions,” he said,“Why does INC [Indian National Congress] hate Ladakh?”The Wire has reached out to the MP for a statement, this report will be updated if and when a response is received.Note: This article was originally published on August 19, 2023 and republished with updates on August 20, 2023.
