Social activist Sonam Wangchuk on Thursday threatened to launch a fresh agitation from September 19 to 24 if the central government fails to provide any assurance to him over issues related to Ladakh within a week. This comes after Ladakh groups expressed their disappointment following a meeting with a sub-committee of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
"We are helpless. We were thinking that there would be no need to carry out a protest or a padyatra, but... We have not received any assurance. If we don't receive an assurance, then we would be forced to launch a massive agitation. The padyatra will now be held from September 19 to 24. However, we are still hopeful of receiving an assurance within a week," he said at a media briefing in Delhi.
Members of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) held a meeting with MHA officials on Wednesday overs demands for statehood and safeguarding the constitutional rights for the union territory (UT). However, the groups were left disappointed, even as the Union Home Ministry maintained that the meeting was positive.
According to the groups, a draft on a proposed elected body for Ladakh was not produced by the government.
"We had come from Ladakh with the hope that a draft would be ready for creating the UT-level elected body, an issue on which there is a consensus. We were hoping that the talks would go forward from there... But unfortunately, we were disappointed," KDA representative Sajjad Kargili said on Wednesday. "However, we will consider these things satisfactory only when a draft of this will reach us and on that draft, we will see whether these things are coming down to the ground or not."
Ladakh was a part of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, but was made a UT after the abrogation of Article 370. Ladakh groups, the LAB and the KDA that have been in touch with the Centre since 2021, have demanded constitutional safeguards for Ladakh and seeking an elected legislative body at the UT level, but have claimed there is no clarity on the overall distribution of powers, including law and order.
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