Contesting as an independent candidate in an ongoing Lok Sabha election from the Ladakh Parliamentary constituency, Haneefa Jan said that the rights and freedom of the people of Ladakh have been snatched post-August 5, 2019 political developments.
He said the rights guaranteed under Article 370 and 35-A were snatched when the erstwhile state was bifurcated into two union territories.
Haneefa Jan was a prominent political figure from Kargil who also served as chief executive councillor for the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) and NC district president from Kargil.
Jan, 55, from the Baroo area of Kargil, informed us that protests erupted immediately after the central government reduced it to UT, expressing discontentment with the decision.
"With the abrogation of Article 370, we lost our safeguards over land, culture, and environment, and the future of our youth is now not safe in the newly formed UT.
So we are requesting protection for our lands and culture under the Sixth Schedule," he said, adding that their second demand is the formation of a Public Service Commission (PSC) for Ladakh to recruit Ladakhi youths for gazetted positions.
"During the last elections for the Hill Development Council of Kargil, the main leading political parties, NC and Congress, entered into a still intact coalition," he added.
Haneefa stated that the NC-Congress coalition in the INDIA Bloc had formally declared their candidate from Ladakh and that the NC high command exerted pressure on them to support him, but the whole NC unit of Kargil quit to support public causes by supporting his (Hanifa's) campaign.
"Had the earlier LS member worked for the people of Ladakh, there would have been no issue, but now I assure you that on winning, I will become the voice of Ladakh," he said.
Haneefa boldly asserted that even as an independent, he could easily receive over 60,000 votes in the Lok Sabha elections, planned for May 20, 2024.
He said Ladakh fears that people from outside will purchase land, establish projects on eco-sensitive land, and take away residents' jobs, which will destabilise the Ladakh region.
"For a solar power project, several hundred acres of land in Leh have been granted to privately owned businesses at Changthang near the Line of Actual Control (LAC)."
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