Ladakh issue should be 'priority among priorities': SP chief Akhilesh Yadav

Lucknow, Oct 2 (PTI) Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said the issue of Ladakh should be considered a "priority among priorities" as he backed the ongoing protest led by climate activist Sonam Wangchuk in the Union Territory.

Wangchuk and 150 other protesters from Ladakh, who are under detention, continued their indefinite fast on Wednesday, saying they find their rights "trampled upon" on Gandhi Jayanti, a day that symbolises peace and democracy.

Wangchuk was leading 'Delhi Chalo Padyatra', which began from Leh a month ago. They were detained on Monday night.

In a long post in Hindi on X, Yadav said, "The effort to save Ladakh is also to save our border land. If the pastures are gradually taken over by others, then there will be a grave crisis for the sheep and goats of the Pashmina shepherds of Ladakh and their related products, which is directly related to the livelihood of the society of Ladakh.

"That is why this issue, apart from being a sensitive strategic issue, is also a very worrying economic-social issue. There is a need to look at the Ladakh issue through a larger lens. Suppressing the voices raised for this is to turn a blind eye to a major interference that is becoming a challenge for the country. That is why the Ladakh issue should be considered a priority among priorities," Yadav said.

The former UP CM said it is unfortunate that the government has to repeatedly remind people of the problems and challenges of Ladakh.

"When someone deliberately does not want to listen, it is deliberately repeated. That is why we had said it earlier and today we are repeating the same thing: How will the BJP, whose tears have dried up and which does not even know how to repay the debt, understand the importance of those who go on hunger strike only on 'water and salt'," he noted.

Yadav claimed the people of the country are with Wangchuk in his struggle to protect Ladakh, the country's borders and the environment.

"Our 'complete support' will make this great movement of his successful. The arrogance born out of the piles of money collected by the BJP through extortion has taken away its power to see, hear and understand. This is the period of BJP's decline," he said. PTI