PM’s claims not true, China has taken land of farmers in Ladakh: Rahul
The Congress leader said the people of Ladakh want to be administered by a public representative instead of a bureaucrat
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to Ladakh, on Sunday (August 20) claimed that China has occupied stretches of land in the region, but the Narendra Modi government was refusing to accept the same.
“Here, the concern is of course that China has taken away the land…people have said that China’s army has entered the area and their grazing land was taken away but the prime minister said that not an inch of land was taken away. But it is not true, you can ask anyone,” Rahul said while addressing reporters at Pangong Tso lake.
The former Congress president also said that people of Ladakh are not happy with the status given to them and want to be administered by a public representative instead of a bureaucrat.
“There were so many complaints from the people of Ladakh, they are not happy with the status that has been given to them, they want representation and there is a problem of unemployment…people are saying that the state should not be run by bureaucracy but by the voice of the people,” ANI quoted him as saying.
On Sunday morning, Rahul paid tributes to his father and late Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi at the banks of Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh.
The former Congress president is currently on a tour of Ladakh – his first since the region was made a Union territory after being carved out of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019 – and is likely to visit Kargil next week.
Rahul on Sunday took social media by storm after sharing pictures of him riding a motorcycle to Pangong Tso lake from Leh. After covering more than 130 km on motorcycle, he stayed overnight at the lake to attend the morning prayer meeting of Rajiv Gandhi.
Congress sources said he will leave for Nubra Valley on the motorcycle on Sunday and is likely to to meet commoners including shopkeepers and farmers en route. He will reach Leh on Monday.
Though the trip was described by his party colleagues in Leh as "non-political" with no consideration of next year's parliamentary elections, Rahul was given a warm welcome by party workers on his arrival on Thursday. He also had a meeting with party colleagues and interacted with the youth besides watching a football match between two local clubs.
(With inputs from agencies)