Ladakh Police remove Sonam Wangchuk from Leh protest site, citing poll prohibitory orders
The Leh Apex Body was due to resume protests on Thursday, and hill council elections are set for 4 December.
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Ladakh Police on Wednesday removed climate activist Sonam Wangchuk from a protest site in Leh and escorted him to his residence, citing prohibitory orders issued for the ongoing election process, Indian Opinion reported. The Tribune also reported that police took him home from the site in Leh.
What Ladakh Police said about the prohibitory orders
“Sonam Wangchuk has been advised to stay at his residence in view of the prohibitory orders issued by the Chief Electoral Officer, UT Ladakh, and the District Magistrate, Leh,” Ladakh Director General of Police Anand Jain said in a post on X, Millennium Post reported. The police said the action was taken with the objective of preventing any potential breach of public order and maintaining peace and tranquillity.
The orders regulate public rallies, protests and other gatherings within the limits of Leh Municipality while the election exercise continues, according to the police intimation quoted by Millennium Post.
Key dates in Ladakh’s election calendar
- 11 November: Wangchuk is removed from the Leh protest site, per Indian Opinion.
- 12 November: protests were due to resume, per Indian Opinion.
- 21 November: Municipal and Panchayat elections in Ladakh, per Millennium Post.
- 4 December: elections to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDC), per Millennium Post.
What Wangchuk and the Apex bodies are demanding
Wangchuk and leaders of the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) had expressed resentment a few hours earlier over holding hill council elections on 4 December, citing harsh winter conditions and large-scale seasonal migration, Millennium Post said. The two bodies, which lead an agitation for constitutional safeguards and statehood, appealed to the President, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Home Minister Amit Shah to help defer the LAHDC election.
After the police action, Wangchuk posted a video appeal to the President, the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the Leader of Opposition, alleging that talks on restoring democracy in the Union Territory had broken down, Indian Opinion said. He argued that winter weather and migration would disenfranchise voters. Earlier on Wednesday he led a protest in Leh seeking deferment of the polls.
Background to the LAHDC elections and the Ladakh agitation
Both groups have pressed for statehood and constitutional protections for Ladakh and have been in dialogue with the Centre. Indian Opinion’s related coverage lists a series of recent developments, including stalled talks on 22 October and the Kargil groups calling a shutdown over the winter polling schedule on 10 November. Elections are also in focus elsewhere, as our report on the Uttarakhand draft voter list shows.
What happens next for Sonam Wangchuk
With protests planned for Thursday, and the prohibitory orders still in force while the election exercise runs, questions remain. The reports NIS read do not say how long Wangchuk is expected to stay at his residence, whether the election authorities will revisit the 4 December date, or how the police will handle Thursday’s protest. The next signal will be whether the Centre responds to the appeal from Sonam Wangchuk and the two bodies.
Ladakh faces Municipal and Panchayat polls on 21 November and hill council polls on 4 December while its main groups press for statehood and safeguards. The police action tests how protest and election rules will be applied. The reports give no word yet on whether the poll date will change, so the Thursday protest and any Centre response are next.