The united leadership of the Union Territory of Ladakh is disappointed after meetings in New Delhi and have started protests in Leh and Kargil. Some officials in Delhi reportedly declined statehood to Ladakh and implementation of the Sixth Schedule.
On Wednesday top environmentalist and a well-known innovator, Sonam Wangchuk started a fast for 21 days to get the attention of the Central government towards the demands of the people of Ladakh. Addressing a huge gathering in Leh, Wangchuk said that the fast would continue in phases until the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) accepts the genuine demands of Ladakh.
Chering Dorjay Lakruk told the media that a high official had categorically said that there would be no grant of legislature for Ladakh or implementation of the Sixth Schedule, which is there in the tribal areas of the Northeast to protect the rights of the tribal population. This has disappointed many in Ladakh.
However, the MHA, in an official statement said, “Home Minister Amit Shah assured the delegation that under the leadership of PM Modi, the government is committed to providing necessary Constitutional safeguards to the Union Territory of Ladakh. He assured that the High Powered Committee on Ladakh has been discussing the modalities to provide such Constitutional safeguards.”
Leaders of civil society of Ladakh and the political leadership of Leh and Kargil have accused some officials of being under the influence of the industrial lobby and warned against playing with the fragile environment of the Himalayas. They have claimed if there are no safeguards under the Constitution, industrial tycoons will bring environmental disaster for entire North India by fiddling with the fragile environmental balance in Leh and Kargil.
After the carving out of the Union Territory of Ladakh from the erstwhile state of J&K, Ladakh has been under direct control of the Centre without any legislature. This has resulted in a number of protests in Leh and Kargil, as the people feel that they have been brought under bureaucratic control by the Central government without having any say in lawmaking for Ladakh.
There have been multiple shutdowns and huge protests by people in the past four years, prompting the Central government to constitute a high power committee to address the grievances and demands of Ladakh. The committee is led by Nityanand Rai, Minister of State for Home Affairs.
The Ladakh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance are holding joint protests, with demands including statehood for Ladakh, its inclusion in the sixth schedule to provide them a tribal status under constitution, job reservations for the locals and two parliamentary seats each for Leh and Kargil.
The united leadership of Ladakh is in a hurry to get their demands fulfilled, as the Lok Sabha elections can be announced anytime.