As the debates regarding the removal of, or shall we say – the changes in article 370, continue to heat up both inside and outside the Indian parliament – there’s one speech that has caught the attention of most.
It is BJP lawmaker Jamyang Tsering – who represents Ladakh in the assembly, who has garnered applause for his powerful address to the parliament yesterday, which has since been going viral.
The recent decision of the BJP-led government, which bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories has got a mixed response from people – with people of Ladakh generally favoring it, as per online reports.
Tsering in his impassioned speech in the parliament addressed the issue while stating – “If Ladakh is today underdeveloped, then Article 370 and Congress party are responsible for it.”
He further stated:
“I am very glad that a lot of people referred to Ladakh, Leh and Kargil in their speeches but I want to know that do they really know what Ladakh is? In the last seven decades, Ladakh was not embraced, it was thrown in one corner and there were statements in this House that it was that land where not one speck of grass grows.”
He further sided with the abolishing of article 370, calling out the Congress party:
“We have struggled for 71 years to make Ladakh a union territory and to be a part of India. The earlier governments gave us no audience and never tried to understand us. 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.”
“What will be lost with this decision? Only two families will lose their daily bread and the future of Kashmir will turn bright,” he said.
Even PM Modi was impressed by his speech as he later Tweeted:
“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!”
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
The young MP’s power-packed speech certainly marks the advent of a new era in Ladakh.