The Congress on Saturday accused the Narendra Modi government of betraying the people of Ladakh and mishandling the crisis unfolding in the state that led to the arrest of activist Sonam Wangchuk.
“The Indian National Congress strongly condemns the pathetic handling of the situation in Ladakh by the Government & subsequent arrest of Sonam Wangchuk under the draconian National Security Act,” Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress president and leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said in a post on X.
He accused the BJP of abandoning its promise of Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh. “At the heart of the crisis lies the BJP’s persistent betrayal of the aspirations of the people of Ladakh. For over a year now, there has been turmoil and instead of lending a patient hearing to the cries of the people for inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, the Modi Government is responding with violence.”
Calling for accountability over the unrest, Kharge added: “We demand a judicial investigation into the deaths of four innocent young men and the serious injuries inflicted upon many others. The Indian National Congress seeks nothing but peace in Ladakh. For decades, we have ensured that this beautiful border region remains harmonious and secure, upholding both the spirit of Democracy and the cause of National Security. The democratic institutions and democracy need to be revived and restored in Ladakh.”
The Ladakh police arrested Wangchuk on Friday after protests in Leh demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule protections turned violent earlier this week and left four dead and 90 injured. Wangchuk was taken into custody by a team led by Ladakh Police chief S. D. Singh Jamwal at 2:30 pm and he is currently lodged in Jodhpur jail.
While no official charges were announced, sources in the Ladakh administration indicated the NSA had been invoked. Mobile internet services in Leh were snapped as a precaution.
Wangchuk, who has been leading the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), has campaigned for Ladakh’s rights since 2019, when the region was carved out of Jammu and Kashmir. He rejected the government’s claim that he incited the violence.
“To say it was instigated by me is to find a scapegoat rather than addressing the core of the problem and this will lead us nowhere,” Wangchuk said, adding the protests reflected the frustration of Ladakhi youth.
The BJP has blamed both Wangchuk and Congress for the unrest.
Party spokespersons linked the violence to a Congress councillor, Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag, alleging he led the mob that attacked a BJP office.
“This man rioting in Ladakh is Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag, Congress Councillor for Upper Leh Ward. He can be clearly seen instigating the mob and participating in violence that targeted the BJP office and the Hill Council,” BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya said in a post.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey also warned that such unrest would be “the consequence of playing with fire.”
Wangchuk, however, pushed back against claims of political orchestration... “Congress doesn’t have such influence here that it can manage to get 5,000 youth on the roads,” he said.
Meanwhile, AAP directed its ire at Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of selective opposition.
On its official page, AAP wrote, “The country's renowned social worker and scientist Sonam Wangchuk has been imprisoned by Modi's dictatorial government on a false charge of sedition, and the country's 'so-called opposition leader' Rahul Gandhi has maintained silence!!”
“Now it has become evident to the world that Rahul Gandhi opposes the BJP only on a few issues for the cameras, but on those issues where a wave against the BJP is sweeping the entire country, Rahul Gandhi disappears. Rahul Gandhi, who asks how many of our ships were lost in Operation Sindoor, why is he silent on Sonam Wangchuk now? Is Rahul Gandhi a BJP agent?”
AAP also recalled Gandhi’s silence on the BJP’s decision to allow an India–Pakistan cricket match, painting him as absent when opposition unity was most needed.
Congress media department chairman Pawan Khera has dismissed AAP’s charges against Rahul, who left for South America on Saturday.