The leaders of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), spearheading a protracted agitation for a democratically elected system with a legislature and constitutional safeguards, have given the Centre a week to issue an assurance and stop taking big decisions on Ladakh until an elected government takes over.
Till the time the draft proposal is announced, the UT administration should refrain from taking major decisions on Ladakh. “We don’t want to be compelled to go on agitation, strikes, sit-ins and hunger strikes. Therefore, we demand a complete draft on executive, legislature, finance and constitutional safeguards,” he said.
“In this context, talks with the government are on. Addressing the media in New Delhi, LAB leader and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk also threatened fresh agitation from September 19 to 24 if the government doesn’t give an assurance on all the issues related to Ladakh. In May this year, MHA officials reached a unanimous consensus with KDA and LAB wherein a new democratically elected governance model and constitutional safeguards under Article 371 K were agreed upon in principle.
Because we were anticipating a draft proposal from the MHA,” Jan said, after September 24 last year, we felt that the home minister, MHA officials and IB officials want peace and development in Ladakh, but Wednesday’s meeting was not up to our expectations.
Wangchuk said it would be ideal that the Ladakh UT was first handed over to a duly elected government and then decisions were taken. Former minister and co-chairman of the LAB, Ladakh MP Mohammad Haneefa Jan said that for the past five to six years, LAB and KDA were struggling for constitutional safeguards in Ladakh. The MP further said that they had prepared for the discussion on the draft proposal. “At yesterday’s meeting, we anticipated that since minutes of the May 22 meeting and non-negotiable demands have been agreed upon, a draft proposal would be presented by the MHA, but unfortunately it didn’t happen and has now been deferred to the first week of October,” he said.
