Statehood, 6th Schedule for Ladakh echoes in Parliament as Opposition corners govt

TMC’s Mahua says ‘‘Ladakhis still waiting for real democracy’; ‘Our people made slaves of bureaucrats’; Ladakh MPHaji Hanifa

Jammu, July 1: The key demands of Ladakhi people for Statehood and the region’s inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of Constitution today echoed in the Parliament, with the opposition parties cornering the NDA government at the Centre for depriving the region of constitutional safeguards and “real democracy”.
The opposition members blamed the NDA government that it was “deliberating denying” the people of Ladakh their rights after the region was “downgraded” from a state to a Union Territory in August 2019.
“You downgraded Ladakh to a Union Territory and you told the people it was a temporary move. Today, five years later, Ladakhis are still waiting. They have not got back their statehood, you have not given them legislature, you have not included them in the Sixth Schedule and you have fulfilled their two demands for two parliamentary separate for Leh and Kargil. As a result, in the current Lok Sabha Ladakhis relegated you to third place. You lost it,” Mahua Moitra, the firebrand Lok Sabha member of All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) said while speaking during a discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address today.
The TMC member also questioned the BJP government’s decision on abrogation of Article 370, saying “If abrogating it (Article 370) was such a good idea, why did the BJP not field candidates in Baramulla, Srinagar and Anantnag-Rajouri? If Article 370 was such a big deal and you were going to campaign on the basis of it, you did not even dare to fight for the seats. The Kashmir Valley voted in favour of the MPs who opposed Article 370”.
The newly-elected Lok Sabha member from Ladakh Haji Hanifa Jan also took on the government for depriving Ladakhi people of real democracy.
“We have been given a UT without a legislature which holds no meaning for the people of Ladakh. There is nothing for Ladakhis in this UT. Bureaucracy is ruling and bureaucrats are supreme. There is no existence of democracy in Ladakh. The safeguards enshrined in Article 370 and Article 35-A related to our land, culture, identity, and environment have been taken away. We, being a Himalayan region having lot of concerns about fragile environment, have been demanding the similar safeguards under Sixth Schedule”, Jan said while interacting with a news portal.
Jan further said, “Our children are in distress. There is no employment for them. No recruitment exercise has been started in Ladakh. Earlier, we used to live in a democracy in Kashmir. All of a sudden we were made the slaves of bureaucracy after Ladakh’s separation from J&K. We want the establishment of democracy in Ladakh. We want to see the rule of the Ladakhi people in the region. The development in the ecologically fragile region should be conducted according to the consultations of the people of Ladakh “.
Pertinently, the 66-day-long climate fast, initiated by engineer-turned-education reformer Sonam Wanghcuk, seeking safeguards for the arid region’s fragile ecology and unique culture, was suspended to ensure “hassle-free” Lok Sabha poll scheduled for lone Lok Sabha seat of Ladakh.
On March 4, several rounds of talks between MHA and Ladakh leaders had failed to bring any “concrete outcome” with the Centre, according to representatives of LAB and KDA, “refusing to accept” their two key demands—Statehood to Ladakh and the region’s inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of Constitution.
The LAB and KDA leaders had also met the Union Home Minister at his residence but the “meeting too did not result in any positive outcome”. This was the first meeting of the Ladakh groups with the Union Home Minister since 2020.

Updated On 7/2/2024 12:08:10 AM