Leaders reiterate 4-point agenda
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 15: The Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) today took out a procession and staged demonstration here in support of their demands and announced that they will also protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi shortly.
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Senior leaders of LAB and KDA led the march in the City shouting slogans in support of their demands before staging demonstration.
Speaking to media persons during protest demonstration, LAB leader Chering Dorjay Lakrook and KDA co-chairman Asgar Ali Karbalaie said they will next stage dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to highlight their demands.
They reiterated their demands including full-fledged Statehood for Ladakh, Constitutional safeguards under Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India, recruitment and job reservation for the youth of UT Ladakh and creation of two separate Parliamentary constituencies for Leh and Kargil.
They also announced a protest calendar which includes a rally in Delhi in the third week of February.
“We have decided to stay away from the high-powered committee constituted recently by the Ministry of Home Affairs as the Government ignored our four-point agenda and also paid no heed to our suggestion about the composition of the panel,” former MP and chairman Apex body Thupstan Chhewang told reporters.
Flanked by his deputy Chering Dorjey Lakruk, KDA co-chairpersons Qamar Ali Akhoon and Asgar Ali Karbalai besides other senior leaders affiliated with different non-BJP parties, he said they are not against the dialogue with the Government on the issues concerning the people of Ladakh.
“The apex body had two separate meetings with the Home Minister, while the KDA had one meeting. We have joined hands to safeguard the interests of the people of Ladakh and want the government to make sincere efforts in resolving our demands,” Chhewang said.
Karbalai said they have been peacefully agitating for their four-point agenda.
“Given the attitude of this government, we have decided to intensify our agitation and today’s programme was part of it. We will move to Jantar Mantar, Delhi in the third week of February and will follow it up by village, block and district level protests across the UT of Ladakh. We will go for strikes if our demands are not met,” he said.
He said they have already forwarded their reservations over the constitution of the high powered committee to the Government and “we want the Government to include our demands in the agenda of the dialogue and also give due representation to the representatives named by the apex body and the KDA”.
Dorjay, also a former minister, said the entire population of Ladakh are with them. “They (BJP Ladakh unit) were also part of the apex body but later distanced themselves (after the demand for full statehood was raised). They are welcome if they wish to join us again,” he said.
All these four issues were missing in agenda released by the Union Home Ministry for talks with LAB and KDA while setting up a high-level Panel headed by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai.
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