Arvind Kejriwal Calls Ladakh Violence ‘Extremely Alarming’, Accuses BJP of Suppressing Democracy: AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal called the violence-hit Leh district of Union Territory Ladakh “extremely alarming” and urged every “true patriot” to stand with the people of Ladakh.

Slamming the ruling government at the Centre, Kejriwal questioned, “Did we take freedom from the British just so that the public would become slaves to the BJP instead of the British?”

He further said, “Revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad sacrificed their lives for democracy so that every Indian would have the right to choose their own government. But today, the BJP, intoxicated by power, is turning one state after another into a Union Territory, snatching away the rights granted by the Constitution.”

On the demands of Ladakh’s people, he stated, “They are simply asking for their right to vote, the right to choose their government. But the BJP is suppressing their voice. Despite repeatedly promising, it is not giving them the right to vote. Democracy is the voice of the people, and when the government starts suppressing that very voice, it becomes the duty of the people to speak even louder. If we want to save the democracy of the country, we cannot remain silent against this dictatorship anymore. Today’s fight in Ladakh could become the fight of the entire nation tomorrow.”

Violence broke out in Leh district on Tuesday, leading to the death of four protestors and leaving many others injured, several of them critically.

The clashes came after six years of peaceful protests, hunger strikes, and a Padyatra from Leh to Delhi, demanding constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule and statehood for Ladakh.

Ladakh became a Union Territory in 2019 without a legislative assembly and has only one Member of Parliament representing its two districts.