September 25 (KNS): The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Thursday strongly condemned the “brutal repression” unleashed by the Union Territory administration in Ladakh under the central government, which has left four people dead and several others injured.

In a press statement issued to KNS, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau said that for the past six years, the people of Ladakh have been peacefully demanding statehood with a fully empowered legislature and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. The party said these constitutional safeguards, already available to several northeastern states, have been consistently denied by the BJP-led central government.

The statement noted that despite repeated rounds of talks in the past three years, the Centre failed to address the concerns raised by the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and other local organisations.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel“Frustrated by the government’s disregard, people launched a 15-day hunger strike, but instead of dialogue, the government resorted to arrests of the strikers. This led to widespread protests and unrest. Even after creating the circumstances for this violence in a traditionally peaceful region, the Centre is now blaming the agitators,” the CPI(M) said.

The party demanded that the government stop all repressive measures immediately and initiate meaningful negotiations with the representatives of the movement. It also sought adequate compensation for the families of those killed and for those injured during the police action.(KNS)