Ladakh delegation presses for statehood and special status in meeting with MoS Home

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A six-member delegation from Ladakh Monday met Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai raising demands for the statehood and special status under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution provides for greater administrative and political autonomy to certain tribal areas.

Ladakh, a part of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, was carved out as a Union Territory on August 5, 2019, after the Government of India unilaterally abrogated the special status of J&K and bifurcated it into two federally administered territories, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

"We discussed our demands and raised our objection to the composition of the high-powered committee," social-political activist Sajjad Hussain, a member of the delegation, told PTI.

The meeting comes months after several socio-religious, political and youth organisations from Leh and Kargil refused to take part in a high-powered committee set by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to "ensure the protection of land and employment" for the people of Ladakh.

The delegation included former Ladakh MP Thupstan Chhewang and former MLAs Chering Dorjey and Nawang Rigzin Jora from the Leh Apex Body. Qamar Ali Akhoon and Haji Asgar Ali Karbalaie -- both former MLAs -- and Hussain represented the Kargil Democratic Alliance.

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Ali, Akhoon, Dorjey and Rigzin were members of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. Dorjey, Rigzin and Akhoon were also ministers in the state government.

The demands of the group included statehood, special status under the Sixth Schedule, separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil and a recruitment drive for educated local youth, among others.

Over the past two years, demonstrations have been held in both Leh and Kargil, seeking protection of the interests of the people of Ladakh.

The Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, representing different social and religious groups from the two regions, joined hands in August 2021 to press for their demands.

In January, the ministry constituted a high-powered committee headed by Rai to "ensure the protection of land and employment" for the people of Ladakh.

The two bodies, however, rejected the committee, raising objections over its agenda and composition.

In February, representatives and people from Ladakh staged a demonstration at Delhi's Jantar Mantar to press for their demands. (With inputs from PTI)