New Delhi : Ladakh MP Haji Hanifa arrived at the Singhu border between Delhi and Haryana on Tuesday in response to the police detention of activist Sonam Wangchuk and others late Monday night.
Hanifa highlighted that there has been ongoing dialogue with the government regarding the protection of environmental and constitutional rights in Ladakh. “For the past three years, we have peacefully advocated for our rights. We engaged the government on these issues, but discussions ceased after the last elections and the new government was formed,” he stated. Under the banner of the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) and Apex Body, they set out from Leh to communicate their concerns to the government. However, after Wangchuk’s detention, they continued their march to address their issues, only to have several members, including many women, detained in different locations.
The Ladakh MP emphasized that the protestors merely sought to deliver a memorandum of their demands to the government. “We urge PM Modi and Amit Shah to either provide us a designated area in Delhi to complete our march and submit our memorandum or arrange to speak with our leaders to resolve the matter. We have always made sacrifices for our country. We expect very little for Ladakh. The entire region is currently in a standstill, and tensions may escalate if our demands are not addressed,” he remarked.
In the meantime, a member of the silent protest expressed their frustrations, stating, “We are facing blatant injustice. We traveled across six or seven borders to be here. We have not violated any laws, yet around 300 of us have been detained without justification. We are simply protesting peacefully and nothing more.
