Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is touring Ladakh, on August 20 said the locals have raised the issue of China taking away the grazing land with him and also expressed unhappiness over the current status of the region.

“There is a concern here that the land is taken away by China. People are affected in a big way because their grazing land has been taken away. Everyone is saying that Chinese troops have intruded and have taken away their grazing land and they cannot go there,” Mr. Gandhi said.

“But the PM [Prime Minister Narendra Modi] said that not an inch of land was taken away, but this is not true, you can ask anyone here,” he added.

Congress Member of Parliament Mr. Gandhi on August 20 visited the banks of Pangong Tso in Ladakh and paid tributes to his father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his birth anniversary.

He said locals in Ladakh, which was carved out as a Union Territory from J&K in 2019, “were having so many complaints”.

“They [people of Ladakh] are not happy with the status that has been given to them, they want representation and there is a problem of unemployment,” Mr. Gandhi said.

He said people suggested that Ladakh should not be run by bureaucracy but must be run by the voice of people.

Mr. Gandhi will visit Kargil on August 25 and will address a public gathering on August 26. His visit comes at a time when Kargil is all set for the polls of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council-Kargil on September 10.