Jamyang Tsering Namgyal was given a shout-out by PM Modi after his speech
A BJP lawmaker from Ladakh, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, trended on social media today for his speech in parliament on the debate on the government's move to end special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and split it into two union territories. Tsering Namgyal's speech in the Lok Sabha is a "must-hear", Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted later.
The lawmaker strongly endorsed the move to turn Jammu and Kashmir into the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh.
"If Ladakh is today underdeveloped, then Article 370 and Congress party are responsible for it," said Tsering Namgyal, asserting that the people of Ladakh had been fighting for Union Territory status for the last seven decades.
He also said protests by parties like the National Conference of Omar Abdullah and Mehooba Mufti's People's Democratic Party should be ignored as they had treated the state as their "family business". If the move was implemented, only two families would lose their job, he said.
"They will not contest the Panchayat elections but when it comes to their posts, they will contest. They think Kashmir is their ancestral property but that is no longer true," said the lawmaker, dressed in traditional wear.
In a tweet, PM Modi gave a shout-out to the BJP lawmaker from Ladakh saying he had coherently presented aspirations of people of the region in his speech.
"My young friend, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal who is @MPLadakh delivered an outstanding speech in the Lok Sabha while discussing key bills on J&K. He coherently presents the aspirations of our sisters and brothers from Ladakh. It is a must hear," PM Modi tweeted.
Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Minister Smriti Irani also tweeted the video of the speech and urged everyone to watch it.
Tsering Namgyal, 34, is a first time lawmaker.