Home Minister Amit Shah met leaders of the Leh- and Kargil-based groups after reaching Ladakh but their discussions did not yield any “favourable” results. He told the Ladakhi leaders that he had come to Leh for the religious event of exposition of Buddha’s holy relics and not to discuss politics.
The leaders of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), including LAB co-convenor Chering Dorjay Lakrook, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, former MP Thupstan Chhewang, Ladakh MP Mohammad Haneefa Jan and CEC of Kargil hill council Dr Mohammad Jaffer Akhoon, met the Home Minister yesterday evening in the presence of Lt. Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena.
Senior officers of the Home Ministry accompanying Shah were also present in the meeting.
The two organisations are demanding statehood for Ladakh and inclusion of the region in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. “We are not satisfied with the meeting because the Home Minister refused to accept any of our proposals,” said Lakrook.
“We requested him that since he has come to Ladakh, a meeting of the high-powered committee can be held in Leh but he refused. Then, we requested that the 22 May sub-committee meeting should be converted into a high-powered committee meeting. This was also turned down,” added Lakrook.
“The Home Minister told us that he hasn’t come for any political activity but for a religious event and asked us to let the 22 May meeting take place first in Delhi,” said Lakrook.
The LAB and KDA had earlier asked for direct, “decision-level” talks with Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his visit to Ladakh, calling the scheduled 22 May sub-committee meeting “inadequate”.
The statement came after Ladakh’s Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena said the Ministry of Home Affairs will hold a sub-committee meeting with representatives of Ladakh groups. The last such meeting took place in early February.
Shah arrived in Leh yesterday to attend the first-ever international exposition of holy relics of Lord Buddha in India.