Different political, religious and social groups Monday took out a peaceful rally in Leh town, seeking constitutional safeguards for the Ladakh region which has been granted the status of Union Territory (UT). The rally was also aimed at conveying gratitude to the Centre for granting the UT status to Ladakh which, they said, had fulfilled the decades-old demand of the tribal people of Ladakh. The rally witnessed participation of thousands of people from different walks of life across Ladakh who were seen holding the Tri-colour with the message on posters and banners as “heartfelt gratitude and thanks to the Union Government of India for the landmark decision of granting the UT status to Ladakh. We seek constitutional safeguards in the new Union Territory”. It was the first major joint peaceful rally of political parties and religious organisations of Leh district with regard to the UT demand after the reorganisation of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state. The rally was taken out on the basis of the consensus decision during a recent joint meeting of religious organisations and political parties called by the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) on February 10 in Leh. “The constitutional safeguards to the region in view of Ladakh’s sparsely populated areas is the consensus demand of all the stakeholders of Ladakh – be it Buddhists, Muslims or Christians and the BJP and Congress in Ladakh,” LBA president PT Kunzang said while addressing the rally, adding that the Centre should soon grant some constitutional safeguards to Ladakh.
