Jamyang Tsering Namgyal's speech in LS: Ladakh MP says revoking Article 370 will only impact 'two families' livelihood', draws praise from Modi

BJP MP from Ladakh Jamyang Tsering Namgyal on Tuesday hit out at the Congress for suppressing the identity and development of Ladakh by making the region a part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir and said that the only loss due to the bifurcation of the state would be to the “livelihood of two families”. Namgyal’s speech during a motion to abrogate special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370  earned praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. [caption id=“attachment_7120051” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal speaks in Lok Sabha on motion to abrogate Article 370. Image courtesy: Twitter/@ANI[/caption] A first time Lok Sabha member, Namgyal said that the people of  Ladakh have been fighting for to get the status of a union territory for 71 years. “They (people of Ladakh) wanted to be an inseparable part of India,” he said. Namgyal said that in 1948, a petition had been submitted to then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, demanding that Ladakh should not be part of Kashmir under any condition. He alleged that the earlier governments had never heard the demands of Ladakh. “Under Kashmir, our development, our political aspiration, our identity, our language – if all of this got lost it is because of Article 370 and the Congress party is responsible for that,” he said. Follow Article 370 Kashmir LIVE updates here He also lashed out at the regional parties in Jammu and Kashmir for asking for democracy and equality in Kashmir, but not ensuring the same for Ladakh. “After the district presidents of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference and People’s Democratic Party in Leh of NC and PDP signed a memorandum of union territory, they were thrown out of the party by issuing a press release. And today, these people talk about democracy. Was that your democracy which was about shutting down people?" he asked. He further said that Ladakh was discriminated against when it came to jobs, educational opportunities and said that the first university in Ladakh was started only because of the Modi government. Namgyal also questioned the secularism of the Congress party, alleging that Article 370 had been misused by the party to drive out Kashmiri Pandits and for ending Buddhism in Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP MP said that the people of both Kargil and Ladakh welcomed the formation of the Union Territory of Ladakh. The future of Kashmir is bright, he added, and the only loss due to the bifurcation of the state would be the loss of livelihood to two families. The Prime Minister praised the “well-articulated” speech by the MP.

My young friend, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal who is @MPLadakh delivered an outstanding speech in the Lok Sabha while discussing key bills on J&K. He coherently presents the aspirations of our sisters and brothers from Ladakh. It is a must hear! https://t.co/XN8dGcTwx6

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 6, 2019

On Monday, Union Minister Amit Shah moved a resolution abrogating Article 370 in the Rajya Sabha. The House also passed a bill bifurcating the states of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories. With inputs from PTI