SRINAGAR: Kavinder Gupta, the Lt Governor of Ladakh Union Territory was on Thursday shifted from the cold desert and appointed as Governor of Himachal Pradesh. Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena was appointed as new Lt Governor of the Ladakh UT.
Kavinder Gupta had taken over as Lt Governor of Ladakh on July 14, 2025. He was the third Lt Governor of the Ladakh UT after its separation from erstwhile J&K state.
The tenure of Gupta, who was the first political appointee as Lt Governor of Ladakh UT after scrapping of Article 370 and bifurcation of erstwhile J&K state into two UTs, was marred by worst unrest in the history of Ladakh.
On September 4 last year, 4 persons were killed and 80 others injured when a protest in support of statehood and 6th Schedule in Leh turned violent and police had to fire on the mob to control the situation. It was one of the worst violent incidents in the history of otherwise peaceful Ladakh.
Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) co-chairman Asgar Karbalai said it was during Gupta’s tenure that an unfortunate incident happened in Leh in September in which four persons were killed and 80 others injured. “More than 80 persons including our hero Sonam Wangchuk were arrested”.
He said the Ladakhis never expected such an incident and won’t forget it.
“All the heads of prominent departments were from Jammu. LG was from Jammu, DG was from Jammu and Chief Secretary was from Jammu”.
Karbalai said the unfortunate incident could have been averted had he (Gupta) handled the situation properly. “Had they followed proper SOPs, the incident could have been avoided”.
Leh Apex Body (LAB) co-chair Chering Dorjey said after his appointment as LG Ladakh, this turned bad in the region.
“People were not happy with his appointment and his tenure was not good for Ladakh,” he said.
According to Dorjey, the resignation of Gupta won’t have any impact on their talks on 6th Schedule and statehood for Ladakh UT with centre.
Meanwhile, President Murmu in the evening appointed Vinai Kumar Saxena, who was Lt Governor of Delhi, as Lt. Governor of Ladakh.