Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera on Friday claimed that a photograph of a man as part of a violent mob in Ladakh was wrongly circulated, including by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as that of Congress councillor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag.
Tsepag has been charged for his alleged role in the violence and arson, for which the Centre has blamed climate activist Sonam Wangchuk.
In a post on X, Mr Khera said: "Several leaders of the BJP and some anchors/social media influencers have been showing a picture and footage of someone, and misrepresenting him as the elected councillor of Congress - Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag."
He added: "We are proceeding with legal recourse and criminal proceedings against all those who have not just attempted to defame our party but have also tried to cause social unrest to fuel further dissensions."
The Congress leader said that "instead of sensitively engaging with the betrayed people of Ladakh", the ruling party at the Centre is "engaging in their usual mudslinging and looking for an opportunity to milk the outrage of Ladakh and settle scores with political opponents."
On Wednesday, four people were killed and at least 80 injured, including 40 police personnel, as clashes broke out between the security forces and supporters of the Ladakh movement amid a curfew in the district.
This came as Mr Wangchuk withdrew his fortnight-long hunger strike over the demands. The Leh Apex Body youth wing called for the protest after two of the 15 people, who were on the strike, were shifted to a hospital because their condition deteriorated on Tuesday evening.
Hours later, BJP's in-charge of national information and technology Amit Malviya shared a photo of a man, he claimed to be Tsepag, for "rioting in Ladakh". "This man rioting in Ladakh is Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag, Congress Councillor for Upper Leh Ward. He can be clearly seen instigating the mob and participating in violence that targeted the BJP office and the Hill Council. Is this the kind of unrest Rahul Gandhi has been fantasising about?" he said in a post on X.
Groups of youths, indulging in arson and vandalism, targeted the headquarters of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Hill Council and set ablaze vehicles during the violence. Police and paramilitary forces, deployed in strength across the town, lobbed teargas shells to bring the situation under control, the officials said.
The Centre alleged that the mob violence was guided by the "provocative statements" of activist Wangchuk, and certain "politically motivated" individuals were not happy with the progress made in the ongoing talks between the representatives of the government and Ladakhi groups.
