New Delhi: Ladakhi leaders who met a Union home ministry panel on Monday ahead of a high-powered committee (HPC) meeting have said that they will not take part in the upcoming meet if the agenda doesn’t include talks on statehood and special status, the Tribune reported.
The discussion, which lasted for over an hour, was organised to set the agenda for the HPC meeting which will be held in the coming weeks, the report said.
The six-member Ladakh delegation presented a four-point agenda including statehood, special status for the Union Territory under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil (currently there is only one for Ladakh) and job reservation for locals, the Tribune reported.
The Ladakh leaders informed the panel about the threats to the tribal culture and environment of the region if it was not brought under the Sixth Schedule which provides for greater administrative and political autonomy to certain tribal areas.
Among the Ladakhi delegates were Leh Apex Body (LAB) members and former MP Thupstan Chhewang as well as former Cabinet ministers in the erstwhile J&K Chering Dorjey and Nawang Rigzin Jora. They were accompanied by Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) members and former Cabinet minister Qamar Ali Akhoon, former MLA Asgar Ali Karbalai and activist Sajjad Kargili, the report said.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, senior officials of the home ministry and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) were also present during the meeting.
According to the Tribune, the delegation was concerned over the home ministry’s lack of assurance on whether the issue of statehood and Sixth Schedule would be included in the HPC meeting agenda.
“The ball is in the government’s court now. It has to be seen if it wants to take forward the talks with Ladakh people,” the Tribune quoted Dorjey as saying. “We told them about the need for elected representatives instead of bureaucrats. This is possible only if Ladakh becomes a state,” Dorjey added.
Karbalai told the Tribune that while the meeting ended on a positive note, eyes are set on the HPC meeting agenda which will be scheduled by the MHA. He said that the MHA panel showed concern towards demands of the Ladakh leaders and assured that the government wanted development for the people of Ladakh.