Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, advised by the Ladakh UT administration to stay at his residence since November 11, is not shying away from continuing his tirade on social media.
Wangchuk has repeatedly claimed in his social media posts that he has been put under house arrest. On November 12, Wangchuk said in a post on X, “Dozens of armed guards surround my house while the Government version says ‘I have been advised to stay at home’. All for asking uncomfortable questions like... why is the Judicial Enquiry Commission Report (of last year’s killings in Leh) delayed & a phoney Council election is foisted on people with rocket speed in mid-winter.
The whole of Ladakh is in protest. My X, Instagram & YouTube reach has been drastically suppressed in the world’s largest democracy.
The preventive action was taken by the UT administration in compliance with the prohibitory orders issued by the Chief Electoral Officer, UT Ladakh, and the District Magistrate, Leh, regulating public rallies, protests and other public gatherings within the limits of Leh Municipality in view of the ongoing election exercise.
As Wangchuk was also participating in the protest, Ladakh Police removed him from the site amid protests by Ladakhi groups opposing the government’s decision to hold hill council elections on December 4.
The Ladakh police, in a written statement, said the action was taken in exercise of the powers vested in the competent authority under the prevailing prohibitory orders, the prevent any potential breach of public order and maintain peace and tranquillity.
The Ladakh administration will conduct the first major electoral exercise after the region was carved out as a separate Union Territory in 2019.
The elections to all eight Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDCs) are scheduled to be held on December 4 amid boycott calls and protests against holding polls in winter.
The eight councils will have 100 constituencies, including 36 seats reserved for women.
According to the schedule announced by the Ladakh administration, November 17 is the last date for filing nominations, followed by scrutiny on November 18. Candidates can withdraw their nominations until November 20. The election process will be completed by December 8.
The polls are held against the backdrop of a prolonged agitation in Leh and Kargil, with political and civil society groups demanding statehood and constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule.
Meanwhile, the Centre is understood to be willing to hold high-powered committee-level talks with Ladakh representatives immediately after the December 4 hill council elections, Leh Apex Body (LAB) Chairman Chering Dorje Lakruk said.
However, he expressed concerns about the timing of the hill council elections, alleging that the Government may be trying to weaken the region’s collective leadership ahead of crucial negotiations.
Flaying the government’s reluctance to reconsider the poll schedule, he said this was the first time in Ladakh’s history that elections were being conducted during the peak winter season, when nearly 25 per cent of the population had already moved outside the Union Territory.
He also claimed serious discrepancies in the electoral rolls. He alleged large-scale deletions, “exclusion of a significant number of Generation Z voters” and the inclusion of names of people who had died.
He said holding elections without correcting these discrepancies would undermine the credibility and representativeness of the exercise.
“We are not against elections, but want the polls to be held when the people who are outside return to their homes after winter and the electoral rolls are properly updated. We want maximum participation,” he said.