Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that the creation of Ladakh as a Union Territory is an internal matter of India.
The Indian government on Monday revoked Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and moved a separate bill to split the state into two union territories of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.
The move sparked jubilation in Buddhist-dominated Leh town for coming close to the fulfilment of their long standing demand.
The creation of Ladakh and the consequential restructuring are India’s internal matters, Wickremesinghe said in a communique posted on social media sites.
“Ladakh will become an Indian State. With 70% of Ladakh’s population being Buddhist it will be the first Indian state with a Buddhist majority.”
“Creation of Ladakh and consequential restructuring is India’s internal matter, it is a beautiful region well worth a visit,” he tweeted.
According to Indian media reports, the Prime Minister, however, got his facts wrong when he tweeted, “Ladakh will become an Indian State. With 70% of Ladakh’s population being Buddhist it will be the first Indian state with a Buddhist majority.”
I understand Ladakh will finally become a Union Territory. With over 70% Buddhist it will be the first Indian state with a Buddhist majority. The creation of Ladakh and the consequential restructuring are India's internal matters. I have visited Ladakh and it is worth a visit.
— Ranil Wickremesinghe (@RW_UNP) August 6, 2019
Several Twitter users corrected the island nation’s Prime Minister, with one comment that read “Not a state ‘A Union Territory.’ to be precise.” Another user commented, “It’s not a state, It’s a union territory without a legislation. Center deals everything in Ladakh.”
On the other hand, a number of users left comments condemning his show of support for a Buddhist-majority “state”, saying “there’s going to be massive amounts of violence in Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh and this is all you have to say??”
Ladakh’s status as a union territory will be unlike Jammu & Kashmir, which will take after the Delhi and Puducherry model, with an elected Legislative Assembly. The Buddhist-majority region, on the other hand, will not be governed by any elected body, but only by the Centre.
-Agencies
