Days after Wangchuk’s detention, MHA ‘assures’ to resume talks with Ladakhi leaders

Senior LAB, KDA leaders to stay in Delhi for ‘strategizing’ dialogue with MHA; normal life returns to Ladakh

Jammu: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has reportedly assured the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) that stalled discussions regarding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution will resume within 15 days.
Following the assurance of MHA, around 150 “Padyatris” who were part of Padyatra taken out by the education reformist-cum-climate activist Sonam Wangchuk from Leh to Delhi, have decided to return to Leh, with the hope that the Centre will follow through on its commitment of resuming the talks with Ladakhis leaders shortly.
“All the Padyatris, who was part of the month-long Padyatra from Leh to Delhi, are returning to Ladakh following the assurance from the MHA. They have ended their fast and have full faith in the assurance given to them,” Chering Dorjay Lakrook, senior LAB leader, told The News Now.
He said the senior leaders of LAB and KDA would stay in Delhi for some days and would hold parleys with the MHA functionaries to draft a blue-print of the dialogue to be resumed within 15 days as assured by the MHA.
Lakrook, however, claimed that all the Padyatris including Sonam Wangchuk have been released and they would submit a memorandum to the senior functionaries of the MHA ahead of the talks to be resumed within a timeframe of 15 days.
Pertinently, the LAB activists and locals, led by climate activist and education reformist Sonam Wangchuk started a Padyatra from Leh town on September 1 and they were scheduled to reach Rajghat, the memorial of the father of national Mahatma Gandhi on October 2.
Meanwhile, Wangchuk reiterated his demand for the restoration of democracy in Ladakh through statehood and protection under Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, saying “In the coming days, he will get to meet India’s top leadership”.
Wangchuk, after being released from the Bawana Police station, paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his birth anniversary and said, “We have given a memorandum to the government that Ladakh is to be protected under constitutional provisions that can protect the Himalayan region”.
In the case of Ladakh, there is Schedule 6 of the Indian Constitution which protects tribal and local people and gives them the authority regarding the management and governance of Ladakh”.
Wangchuk claimed that the Home Ministry assured him that in the days to come, he would get to meet India’s highest leadership—the President of India, the Prime Minister or the Union Home Minister”.
“I have demanded the restoration of democracy through statehood and also through the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution,” he added.
The Congress on Tuesday slammed the government over the detention of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and several other Ladakhis, with Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi terming it as “unacceptable” and saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi would have to listen to Ladakh's voice.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the “arrogance of the Modi government”, consumed in power, has detained a group of citizens from Ladakh peacefully marching to Delhi.
Around 120 people from Ladakh, including Wangchuk -- who had marched to the national capital demanding Sixth Schedule status for the Union Territory -- have been detained by the Delhi Police at the national capital's border.
Meanwhile, Sonam Wangchuk reached the Rajghat and paid floral tribute to Mahatma Gandhi along with his supporters after they were released on Wednesday evening from Bawana police station. Wangchuk, along with his supporters, was detained by the Delhi Police on Monday night at the Delhi-Haryana Singhu border due to prohibitory orders in the capital city while they were en route to Rajghat. Wangchuk and his supporters began an indefinite fast after being detained by the Delhi Police on Monday.
The activist and his fellow marchers, including elderly individuals and army veterans, were on a peaceful journey to the Rajghat when they were stopped and detained by a large police force.
The ‘padyatra’ was organized by the Leh Apex Body, which, along with the Kargil Democratic Alliance, has spearheaded an agitation for the last four years, seeking statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
Normal life returned to Ladakh after the release of Sonam Wangchuk and others who the Delhi Police detained. On Tuesday, a complete shutdown was observed in Ladakh to protest the detention of Sonam Wangchuk.

Updated On 10/3/2024 12:21:11 AM