Kavinder Gupta, the BJP leader who once accused Muslims in Jammu of orchestrating a land jihad, was sworn in as Ladakh’s lieutenant governor (LG) on Friday, where he appeared to carry forward a familiar narrative by raising the cry of regional discrimination.

Gupta had found himself in a controversy after allegations that he himself had encroached on the state land in Jammu, a charge he denied, while his party was caught on the wrong foot after it emerged that most of the alleged encroachers were Hindus.

Gupta, who served as deputy chief minister in the PDP-led government, took oath as Ladakh LG with Chief Justice of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, Justice Arun Palli, administering the oath of office in Leh town.

The CEOs of Leh and Kargil Autonomous Hill Development Councils, MP from Ladakh Haji Mohmad Haneefa Jan, the chief secretary, DGP, administrative secretaries and other dignitaries attended the ceremony at Raj Nivas in Leh town.

Gupta’s appointment has come ahead of the next round of talks between the ministry of home affairs and Ladakh leaders next week over the joint demand of its Muslim and Buddhist population seeking Sixth Schedule status, statehood with a legislature and separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts of Ladakh UT. The residents have been up in arms against the Centre for delaying their demands.

The new LG, soon after taking over, assured Ladakhis that they would work unitedly and rise above religion, caste and party politics to work for the development of Ladakh.

"A lot needs to be done. In previous times, there has been a lot of discrimination against Ladakh, and there are no two opinions about it,” he said, reviving the old complaint of the region’s Buddhists against Kashmir-based politicians.

“We want to take Ladakh to a stage where it will be named among the top states for tourism in the world.”

Muslims enjoy a slender majority in Ladakh, and they have traditionally shunned calls for a Union Territory status for the region. The two communities, however, joined hands after the 2019 scrapping of special status and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two UTs to fight for greater powers for the locals.

There have been mixed reactions to Gupta’s appointment as LG, with the region’s MP Haneefa Jan congratulating him and she hoped that as a “seasoned leader” from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, he carries with him a “deep understanding of the unique geographical, socio-political, and developmental challenges of Ladakh”.

Chief minister Omar Abdullah wished him luck but said he can succeed only if he takes the people of Leh (Buddhist majority) and Kargil (Muslim majority) along.

Gupta had stirred a major controversy in 2020 when he called the scrapping of the Roshni Act — that legalised encroachments in Jammu and Kashmir — by Jammu and Kashmir High Court a “surgical strike” against “land jihad”. The act was scrapped following a campaign by the Right-wing leaders in Jammu, including those from the BJP.