Centre ‘not in mood’ to grant statehood, says Ladakh leader

The Union Government does not appear to be in a “mood” to grant Sixth Schedule status and statehood to Ladakh, Leh Apex Body (LAB) co-chairman Cherring Dorjay Lakruk said on Saturday.

Lakruk’s remarks come days after a meeting of the High-Powered Committee (HPC) between the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and Ladakh leaders held in New Delhi earlier this week. While Ladakh leaders described the meeting as “inconclusive”, Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra on Thursday termed the discussions “constructive”.

Speaking to The Tribune, Lakruk said he felt that the Central Government was not inclined to accept the two principal demands of the people of Ladakh — inclusion under the Sixth Schedule and restoration of statehood.

“It seems they (government) are not ready to grant these two core demands. During the meeting, they mostly counted the negative points about these demands,” he said.

Lakruk added that Apex leaders would soon hold an internal meeting to deliberate on the outcome of the discussions. “We will also hold a press conference to tell the public what happened in the meeting,” he said.

“There is a meeting of subcommittee-level discussions expected next, let us see what happens next,” he added.

The High-Powered Committee meeting, held in New Delhi on Wednesday, was attended by members of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA). The meeting was chaired by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai and attended by senior officials of the Home Ministry. LAB and KDA are the two Ladakh-based groups engaged in dialogue with the Centre.

Wednesday’s meeting marked the first high-level engagement between the two sides since last year’s violence in Leh, in which four people were killed and around 90 others injured during protests.

Sajjad Kargili, a KDA leader who attended the meeting, said the discussions “did not yield a conclusive outcome”, but added that “dialogue is a continuous and constructive process.”

“We are hopeful that sustained engagement will lead to a just and acceptable resolution for the people of Ladakh,” he said.

Senior Ladakh BJP leader and former Chairman of the Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Tashi Gyalson, however, described the talks as “one step forward” towards resolving the issues, stating that the discussions were productive rather than inconclusive.

The Union Home Ministry did not issue any statement following Wednesday’s meeting.