People of Ladakh, Sonam Wangchuk are only demanding their constitutional rights: HP minister

Shimla, Sep 26 (PTI) Himachal Revenue and Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi came out in support of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and said that the people of Ladakh and Wangchuk are only demanding their constitutional rights.

Talking to the PTI videos here on Friday, he said that the BJP is operating with repressive policies and is using the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as a tool to suppress the opposition across the country.

Negi alleged that a "police raj" has been established in Leh-Ladakh and that efforts are being made to suppress those who are raising their demands under constitutional rights.

He said, "Sonam Wangchuk and the people of Ladakh are only demanding their constitutional rights, and suppressing this voice is dangerous for the unity and integrity of the country".

The Congress leader said that the union government has betrayed the people of Ladakh, and the situation in Leh-Ladakh remains worrying, unfortunate and tragic.

Police on Friday arrested climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, two days after protests demanding Ladakh's statehood and Sixth Schedule status left four people dead and 90 injured in the Union Territory. The administration also snapped mobile internet services in the Leh area as a precautionary measure.

Wangchuk, a leading voice for the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), has been spearheading the five-year-long agitation for statehood and constitutional safeguards for the residents of Leh and Kargil, which form part of the Ladakh Union Territory carved out from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.

Meanwhile, the Revenue minister informed that the Cabinet had taken 1,087 decisions out of which 1,039 have been successfully implemented between January 13, 2023, and June 30, 2025.

Negi, who also chaired the 262nd meeting of the Board of Directors of Himachal Pradesh Agro Industries Corporation Limited (HPAIC) said that the Corporation achieved a turnover of Rs 33 crore (pre-audit) and earned a net profit of Rs 93.34 lakh (pre-audit) in five months. PTI BPL AMJ AMJ