A day before Ladakh shuts down to demand constitutional safeguards and Statehood for the Union Territory, Union Home Ministry invited civil society leaders from the region for the second round of high-powered committee dialogue on February 19.
Leh and Kargil divisions of Ladakh will observe a shutdown on February 3 to reiterate four demands - statehood for Ladakh, inclusion of Ladakh in the sixth schedule of the Constitution giving it a tribal status, job reservation for locals, and a parliamentary seat each for Leh and Kargil.
The MHA committee led by Minister of State (Home) Nityanand Rai was reconstituted on November 30 last year, after the first committee constituted in January 2023 was rejected by the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA).
The reconstituted committee held its first meeting on December 4 and for the first time it agreed to examine the demand of civil society groups in Ladakh to provide “constitutional safeguards” for the UT.
The next meeting has been scheduled on February 19 in Delhi, a letter by the Ministry said.
In the December 4 meeting, the delegation had raised the issue of disempowerment of locals, trust deficit in the name of development, reservation for locals in jobs, electoral representation and tribal status for the union territory.
The Ministry officials had then requested the leaders to not hold protests and agitations till the official talks are on.
A call for ‘Leh Chalo’ has been given by LAB and KDA. People have been asked to converge in Leh to mark their protest.
