Saddened as we have high hopes: Wangchuk
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 21: Leh Apex Body (LAB) chairman Thupstan Chhewang, who returned to Leh today along with other members of LAB and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) after talks with Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, said the ball now is in the court of Home Ministry and it seems they are also in urgency for holding talks.
Chhewang and some other members straightway went to Stadium on their return to Leh and met education reformist Sonam Wangchuk who has been holding week-long fast in support of demands raised by LAB and KDA. They briefed Wangchuk on the talks held in New Delhi on June 19 and expressed their gratitude for his support.
Briefing media persons, Chhewang said the Home Ministry too appears to be in urgency as they too want to start dialogue with LAB and KDA.
“They (the MHA) will convey their decision shortly but clearly the ball is in their court now. We have briefed them that our four-point agenda should be part of the talks. Further, the LAB and KDA members in the High Powered Committee (HPC) should be decided in consultations with us,” the LAB leader said.
Asserting that they are shortly expecting an invite from the Union Home Ministry, Chhewang said they reiterated their four-point agenda before the MHA including Statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh, separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil and employment opportunities for the youth including constitution of the Public Service Commission or inclusion of Ladakh in the PSC of Jammu and Kashmir like the common High Court,
“We were never against the Government but we had reservations on composition of the HPC especially representation from LAB and KDA without consultations with us and non-inclusion of our agenda in the talks,” Chhewang said.
Sonam Wangchuk at the site of his fast said the delegation had gone to New Delhi with high hopes which slightly fell short which is saddening for the people of Ladakh.
“It would have been a very goodwill gesture if talks are held on four-point agenda though granting Sixth Schedule status and Statehood may take some time,” Wangchuk said.
However, he expressed confidence that Ladakh will get good news soon and the people will thank the Centre. Otherwise, people will feel saddened, he added.
On June 19, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai had held talks with six members of LAB and KDA (three each from the two bodies) in New Delhi and listened to their issues. The meeting between Ladakh leaders and the Union Home Ministry was held after 22 months as the dialogue remained stalled on various pretexts.
The LAB and KDA leaders briefed the Union MoS Home on their issues in the meeting. However, leaders of the two bodies have made it clear that further talks will be held only if their four-point agenda is included in the HPC and composition of the delegations especially LAB and KDA representatives are finalized in consultations with them.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
