A day after the Leh Apex Body (LAB) Monday announced that it will no longer hold talks with the Central government until normalcy is restored in the Ladakh region, the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) too announced a similar move on Tuesday, stating that it will not take part in talks with the Centre till activist Sonam Wangchuk is released.
KDA co-chairman Asgar Karbalai told the media that the Union government must order a judicial probe into the Leh firing incident in which four people were killed. Karbalai further said all those arrested post the violence should also be released.
The LAB, also referred to as ABL, issued an appeal yesterday to the Centre and the UT administration to address the “atmosphere of fear, grief and anger” in the Ladakh region.
Chairman Thupstan Chhewang said: “We have unanimously agreed that the situation as it is prevailing at present, unless peace is restored in Ladakh, no talks can be held.”
The KDA cautioned the Centre against alienating the people of Ladakh yesterday.
Both LAB and KDA have been pressing for their demands to accord statehood and the Sixth Schedule to Ladakh. During one such protest on Wednesday, when activist Wangchuk was on a hunger strike, violence broke out in the Ladakh capital, during which four people were killed and scores of others were injured.
An unruly mob resorted to stone pelting and arson and also set the local BJP office and the LAB office on fire on September 24. A CRPF vehicle was also set alight, with allegations later that the intention was to burn alive the CRPF jawans sitting inside.
Wangchuk immediately ended his hunger strike and appealed for peace. He was later accused of instigating violence and was arrested under the National Security Act (NSA). The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) also cancelled the FCRA registration certificate issued to the activist’s Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) organisation over alleged FCRA violations.
Meanwhile, the MHA has stated that the Centre is always ready to hold the dialogue on Ladakh, adding that the intention is to resolve the problems through a dialogue process.
“Government has always been open for dialogues on Ladakh matters with the Apex Body Leh (ABL) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) at any time. We would continue to welcome the discussion with ABL and KDA through the High Powered Committee on Ladakh or any such platform,” the MHA said in a release.
“The dialogue mechanism established with Apex Body Leh (ABL) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) through the High Powered Committee (HPC) on Ladakh has yielded good results till date in the form of increased reservations to the Scheduled Tribes of Ladakh, providing women’s reservations in Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils, and protection to local languages. The process of recruitment for 1,800 government posts has already commenced in Ladakh. We are confident that continuous dialogue would yield the desired results in the near future,” it added.