Rahul Gandhi supports agitating groups to retrieve party's lost ground in Ladakh [details]

To retrieve his party's lost ground in the cold desert, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday supported different groups of Leh and Kargil agitating for granting statehood to Ladakh. Addressing a rally at Kargil to windup his weeklong tour of Ladakh, Rahul Gandhi extended Congress's unconditional support to the demands of the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance.

"During my week-long tour, I covered every nook and corner of Ladakh on my bike. I understand issues of Ladakh by interacting with the common man", he said.

" People told me that their political voice is being muzzled. Ladakh might have become a Union Territory, but natives of this region are being deprived of their rights", he said and added that people told him that promises of employment made to them were false.

"A few months back, we held Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. Our aim was to take a stand against the hatred being spread by BJP-RSS. We tried to spread love in the country,", he said.

"Congress party fully supports the demands of the residents of Ladakh", he said while referring to the issues raised by the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance. Rahul Gandhi extended support to the agitating groups of Ladakh to retrieve the land ground of his party in this mountainous region.

In two successive elections in 2014 and 2019, BJP won the Ladakh Lok Sabha seat which was earlier considered as citadel of the Congress party.

Ladakh groups agitating for statehood, and other demands.

The Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance have been spearheading the agitation in support of their four major demands including full-fledged statehood for Ladakh, implementation of the Sixth Schedule to protect the interest of the tribal people of Ladakh, separate Lok Sabha seats for Kargil and Leh, and establishment of "Ladakh Public Service Commission" with the Ladakh Resident Certificate (LRC) as a mandatory requirement for all Gazetted Posts in Ladakh.

Except for BJP, all political parties have joined the stir. The BJP, which rules Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh, stayed away from the agitational programme in Ladakh.

The BJP has distanced itself from the agitating on the ground that the grant of Union Territory was a major demand of Ladakhis, which was accepted by the Central Government on August 5, 2019.

On January 3, this Union Home Ministry has constituted a high-powered committee to discuss land and employment safeguards for the Union Territory of Ladakh. The committee will be headed by the Minister of State for Home Affairs.

BJP wants to take away the land of Ladakhi people

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that it wants to take away the land of Ladakhi people and give it to some business groups.

Gandhi further alleged that because of the same reason they don't give proper representation to Ladakhi people as after that they will not be able to take the lands of locals.

"BJP is depriving Ladakhis due representation because they (BJP people) know that if you were given representation then they will not be able to take away your land", he said but asserted that Congress will never let this happen.

Rahul reached Ladakh on August 17, his first visit to the region since it was granted Union Territory status after being carved out from Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019. The erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two UTs.

Rahul reaches Kashmir on  personal visit

After completing a week-long tour in Ladakh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reached Srinagar on a two-day "personal visit".

Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president Vikar Rasool Wani said that Rahul Gandhi will be joined by his mother Sonia Gandhi on Saturday.

Wani, however, said the two senior leaders will have no political engagement or meeting with any party leaders in Srinagar during the "family tour."