NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) on Thursday condemned the police crackdown on protestors in Ladakh. It said that instead of engaging in meaningful dialogue, the central government arrested people observing a hunger strike and, which had led to widespread protests and unrest among them.
A statement issued by the Polit Bureau of the Party said that it strongly condemns the "brutal repression unleashed" by the Union Territory administration under the central government against the people of Ladakh. "This violent crackdown has resulted in the tragic loss of four lives and left several others injured. For the past six years, the people of Ladakh have been demanding statehood, with a fully empowered legislature, as well as the inclusion of the region under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. This would grant them the constitutional safeguards and benefits enjoyed by the people in many northwestern states. The demand for these rights has been consistently ignored by the BJP-led central government," read the statement.
The CPM said that frustrated by the Government’s callous disregard for their legitimate demands and the refusal to address these concerns through several rounds of negotiations over the past three years, the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and other people’s organisations had launched a peaceful hunger strike that lasted for 15 days.
"Instead of engaging in meaningful dialogue, the central government chose to respond with forceful arrests of the hunger strikers, which only led to widespread protests and unrest among the people. Even after creating the circumstances which are responsible for this violence in a traditionally peaceful place, the Central Government is now blaming the agitators," said CPM.
Wednesday's clashes during the protest over statehood and Sixth Schedule demand left four dead and 80 injured, with a shutdown in neighbouring Kargil. A day after, restrictions under Section 163 continued in Ladakh’s violence-hit areas on Thursday.
The party urged the central government to immediately cease all repressive measures and engage in meaningful negotiations with the representatives of the movement. "We demand that the government provide adequate compensation to the families of those who lost their lives, as well as to those who were injured in the police repression," it added.