STATE TIMES NEWS
LEH: An embarrassingly unseen development unfolded in Leh on the Republic Day when 10 Councillors of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Leh were denied entry into the historic Leh Polo Ground where the main function of the Republic Day was held with the Lt Governor of Ladakh R.K. Mathur unfurling the National Flag. Councillors alleged that they were not allowed to enter the venue from the VIP gate despite having invitation cards from the Administration of the Union Territory of Ladakh. They accused the UT Administration of undermining LAHDC. “We were asked to enter from the public gate despite having invitation cards from the UT administration. This was a black day in the history of LAHDC,” Councillors lamented addressing the media. “We left the venue as we were denied entry,” they added. Councillors also warned for separate celebrations of Republic Day and Independence Day at the NDS Ground henceforth if authority of LAHDC is continued to be undermined. The also accused UT Administration for not issuing any warrant of precedence defining status of Councillors. The Councillors who traveled to the venue in a District Garage Bus said that the UT administration enjoys Range Rover, Fortuner, Crysta, Scorpio but the Councillors have nothing, not even a warrant of precedence for their status. “This is happening for the first time. We belong to different parties and irrespective of our political affiliation we are elected public representatives,” disgruntled Councillors said. There were 8 BJP, one Congress and one Independent Councillors.
Responding to media queries, CEC, LAHDC Leh Tashi Gyaltsan termed the incident very unfortunate. He said that it has hurt the sentiments of the people who have elected the Councillors. “The moment I came to know about the incident, I discussed it with LG Saheb. He ordered an investigation into this immediately.” Informing that Lt. Governor has now assured him that a warrant of precedence will be issued soon, Tashi accused UT Administration for failing to provide due protocol to Councillors to define their status. Member Parliament Ladakh, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal also issued a statement expressing concerns over the incident. He urged Lt. Governor of Ladakh to conduct a thorough investigation and also asked for strict action to “uphold the dignity of the Constitution and its implementation on the ground”. Meanwhile, Ladakh Police also issued a statement regarding the incident and said that Councillors, who were the invitees to attend the Republic Day Function at Pologround, were stopped from entering the DC office parking gate due to some miscommunication. “Upon intervention of some senior officers the matter couldn’t get resolved and the Hon’ble Councillors left the venue. The incident caused a deep embarrassment for the Hon’ble Councillors and the inconvenience caused is deeply regretted,” a statement said adding that in order to find the cause of such incident and find the officers so responsible for such an unfortunate incident, an enquiry is being conducted at District police level. “The matter has been taken up with utmost seriousness by all the senior officers and strict action shall be taken against the personnel responsible.” It is learnt that ADGP Ladakh SS Khandare has issued an order attaching two police personnel with DPL Leh against pending enquiry.