Ladakh BJP Chief Quits Party, Cites "Loss of Power" as Reason

Ladakh, May 5, 2020:

In an indication that perhaps all is not well in Jammu and Kashmir region since the area's division into two union territories, BJP Chief from Ladakh Chering Dorjay, has quit the party. He has cited the loss of power of the Autonomous Hill Councils of Leh and Kargil districts after Ladakh was made into a Union Territory as his reason for breaking ranks with the saffron party.

Dorjay, who was a former Minister in the PDP-BJP Government in J&K has alleged that the Union Territory administration has rendered the autonomous Hill Councils of Leh and Kargil districts completely ineffective by "not allowing them to function as per the council Act".

Dorjay's resignation has come against the background of simmering tensions in the region amid reports that stranded Ladakhis are not receiving any help from the Centre to return them to their native land.

In his resignation letter, the BJP leader alleged that Ladakhis are not being treated well and the BJP party has been ignoring the "concerns" of Ladakh citizens. He also alleged that Lakadhis stranded amid the lockdown are not receiving any aid from the Government to return home.

Dorjay's request to the Centre was also unheeded and that is when he chose to make his displeasure known. Chering Dorjay said around 2,000 people from the Union Territory are stuck in different parts of the country amid the extended lockdown, and has accused the Government of being "insensitive" towards them.

All the BJP councillors of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Council also protested outside the Lieutenant Governor's office in Leh over the plight of the stranded people.

"Patriotic people of Ladakh, who have stood with armed forces in all the wars fought by our nation since 1948, are treated so shabbily and with disrespect by the UT administrators", the BJP leader wrote in his resignation letter to BJP national president JP Nadda.

This has come as a major shock to political pundits as Dorjay was seen leading celebrations in Ladakh after the region was separated from Jammu and Kashmir and made into a Union Territory in August, 2019.

In his letter to the BJP national president, Mr Dorjay said the people of Ladakh have sacrificed a lot to achieve autonomous status. "," said Mr Dorjay in his letter. "I have expressed my doubts about these problems well in time to the party high command," he said.

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