A “Thanksgiving” program was organised by the Ladakh Buddhist Association(LBA) in Leh yesterday to celebrate Ladakh becoming a Union Territory after the central government obtained a presidential decree to abrogate Article 370 and bifurcate the state into two Union Territories- Jammu and Kashmir with legislature and Ladakh without legislature.
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A legion of people from different villages participated in the celebration. Political leaders, religious leaders, monks and Sarpanchs were present at the event to rejoice the government’s decision to reorganise the region as a union territory and preserving Ladakh’s distinct identity.
People in Ladakh have been demanding the union territory status for several decades. As the Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering told the Lok Sabha on 6th August, people in Ladakh felt that the Jammu and Kashmir government was discriminating against the region. He had accused that due to the policies of Congress government and Article 370, the development, political aspiration, identity, language of Ladakh have become extinct under Kashmir.
Therefore, people in Ladakh are elated with the prospect of development of the region as a union territory. Even the Muslim residents in Ladakh expressed their elation at the government’s decision by hoisting the Indian flag at the top of the centuries-old mosque in the main market region of Leh.
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One of the Muslim residents said, “From Leh to Kanyakumari, we are all Indians and India is one. We have full faith in PM Modi and we are happy with Modi government’s move of declaring Ladakh a UT and expect that this decision will kickstart development of the Ladakh region.”
Yesterday, PM Modi addressed the nation talking about his government’s decision to abrogate Article 370 and bifurcation of the state into two union territories. PM Modi defended his government’s move saying the decision will herald increased development of the regions. PM Modi also said that farmers in Ladakh will have unfettered access to markets across India for selling their produces and will bring prosperity to the region.