Leh, April 29: Union Minister Kiren Rijiju lashed out at the Congress on Monday for “decades of criminal injustice” to the people of Ladakh.
Addressing rallies at Nyoma in Changthang region near the Line of Actual Control here, the minister of state for home said in the 72 years of independence, Congress enjoyed power for 60 years but the party did not manage to do anything for the common man.
“The Congress has unleashed a demonic culture of looting the nation’s resources for filling their own pockets, which has done enough harm to the nation and it should be stopped at once”, he said, campaigning for the BJP’s candidate Jamyang Tsering Namgyal in Ladakh Parliamentary Seat, which is primarily Buddhist-dominated.
Flanked by BJP state president Ravinder Raina, MLC Tsering Dorjey, MP candidate Namgyal, Rijiju told gatherings at Khalsti and Neoma of Ladakh to vote for the favour BJP.
He appealed to the people to teach Congress a lesson as the grand old party had “abandoned the Ladakh region for filling its own kitty”.
Rijiju said while the Congress party only serves a single family, the BJP is a party which cares for the whole country.
He said the Modi-led government had undertaken record number of development works in the country in only five years.
He said mass voting in favour of the BJP would strengthen Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hands to undertake development work in the region.
He said Namgyal will fulfil the expectations of the people with full support of the central leadership.
Ravinder Raina, in his address, said the BJP has put an end to the discrimination that the people of Ladakh were facing for decades.
He said the same spirit will be carried forward by Namgyal as MP.
Namgyal resolved to develop the Ladakh region on the most modern lines.
Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency is the largest in India in terms of area. Out of the six parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh has the least number of polling stations at 559 and the fewest voters at 1,71,819. Leh and Kargil districts have 294 and 265 polling stations respectively.
The Congress is facing an uphill task to win the Ladakh Parliamentary seat as party rebel, backed by an influential religious organisation, has filed nomination as an independent candidate, making the May 6 election a multi-cornered contest involving the BJP, said analysts.
Rigzin Spalbar, of Congress, is fighting against party rebel Asgar Ali Karbalai.
Spalbar, a Buddhist leader, is a two-time chief executive councillor of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), and Karbalai is a former MLA of Kargil. There are four other candidates in the fray.
