Amid the voices of "discontent" becoming louder in UT Ladakh, President of India has appointed, apart from Ladakh, two other new governor and Lt governor. Now there will be three former army commanders to take command of the sensitive States and union territory in the Himalayan region. Will they come up to the aspirations of Natives in these states?.
Since all the three states are ruled by the BJP-led government or represented by the BJP MPs, the Modi government has tried to strengthen its sway over locals and the ex-servicemen and the serving soldiers in the country ahead of the coming Lok Sabha polls in 2024.
Brigadier (Retd) BD Mishra, former governor of Arunachal Pradesh will take command of Ladakh as its new L-G.
Lt Gen K T Patnaik takes over as the new governor of Arunachal Pradesh in place of Brig. Mishra. LP Prasad Acharya is governor of Sikkim.
Similarly, Gulab Chand Kataria is governor of Assam. Sushri Anusuiya Uikye is governor of Manipur. La Ganesan governor of Manipur is Guv of Nagaland. Rajenddra V Arlekar goes out as Governor of Bihar from Himachal which gets Shiv Pratap Shukla in his place.
RK Mathur's resignation was accepted by the President after he along with Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Guv of Maharashtra were asked to resign, sources said.
The strategists say that the state governments, governors, LG, army and Natives need to work in tandem and live in harmony.
This is more so considering that the mercurial and recalcitrant Chinese PLA continue to create border tension by its incursions like ones witnessed in Galwan, Eastern Ladakh and in Tawang and Kemang in Arunachal Pradesh in the recent past in the border Himalayan region.
The change of L-G, Ladakh UT was more evident. The certain sections of students’ communities and NGOs in Ladakh were unhappy with the administration of the L-G of Ladakh UT, RK Mathur.
“It was administrative failure on several counts. Earlier many students missed NET exam. Now they are missing GATE due to heavy snowfall on the way to Leh as there is no system to make the Center accessible as of now”, the students rued, demanding justice for them.
Second major demand. The air fare has sky rocketed again in Ladakh as the private Airways are charging the whooping Rs 33,000 for a flight that takes just an hour and 25 minutes.
Local residents say that this is very unfair and an open loot. The private airliners are taking advantage of the lack of connectivity to the Ladakh region to fill their pockets.
This is exploitation at its peak, they resented.
Will Brigadier Mishra, who has replaced Mathur restore their confidence?
Mathur became controversial after NGOs including Ladakhi innovator Sonam Wangchuk undertook “climate fast in harsh winter in -20 degrees centigrade and showcased grievances including a demand for protection of Ladakh under 6th Schedule of Indian Constitution”.
During his recent carbon neutral Climate Change fast, Wangchuk had charged how the Rs 6000 crore budget for Ladakh UT was not being utilised by the office of the Lieutenant-Governor.
Nearly 70% of this budget goes back to the Center as the funds get lapsed due to non-utilization, he had charged.
But now the Modi government has changed the L-G Ladakh and reposed faith in the former army commander working in the border Himalayan states.
The Modi government also seeks to promote its vibrant border villages policy, Bharatmala and the strategic interest restoring and reassuring confidence of natives living in the strategic sensitive Himalayan borders straddling China, Pakistan and Myanmar.
Brig Mishra has earned a goodwill in Arunachal Pradesh in northeast.
He worked in tandem with the Chief Minister Pema khandu, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju and the army commander of region and made strides in the sensitive north eastern Himalayan state, said the sources.
Likewise in Uttarakhand, the state governor Lt Gen Gurmeet Singh is also doing the same thing. Gen Gurmeet Singh is the Indo-China border expert and has served as the Deputy Army Chief.
He is working in tandem with the Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami government and has been meticulously promoting the "National Interest".
