JAMMU, Nov. 7: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs is expected to invite three representatives from each of the districts of Leh and Kargil, as well as the CECs and Chairpersons of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils, a member of the Lok Sabha, and the Lieutenant Governor’s advisor, to a meeting on the Union Territory of Ladakh that is set for December 3 in the Union capital. Top MHA officials, including the Home Secretary, will attend the meeting, which will be chaired by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai.
Thupstan Chhewang, a two-time MP from Ladakh, Chering Dorjay Lakruk, and Nawang Rigzin Jora (all from Leh), as well as Qamar Ali Akhoon, Asgar Karbalaie, and Sajjad Kargili (all from Kargil), are among the three members from Leh and Kargil districts who have been invited for talks, according to sources who spoke to the Excelsior. Jora is the head of Congress for the Union Territory, and Chhewang and Lakruk are the chairman and co-chairman of the Leh Apex Body (LAB).
Karbalaie from the Congress and Akhoon from the National Conference serve as co-chairs of the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA). Sajjad Kargili is a well-known activist and political figure.LAB and KDA first joined forces to launch the fight for Ladakh’s four-point agenda, which included statehood, two parliamentary seats, Sixth Schedule status, and a specialized Public Service Commission.
Nonetheless, Sonam Wangchuk, a climate activist, conducted a month-long “padyatra” from Ladakh to New Delhi and then staged a sit-in at Ladakh Bhawan for several days until the Union Home Ministry declared on October 21 that negotiations with Ladakh officials will resume on December 3. According to the sources, the meeting will also include top MHA officials like the Home Secretary and the Joint Secretary Incharge of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh, as well as CECs-cum Chairpersons of the Leh and Kargil Autonomous Hill Development Councils, including Tashi Gyalson and Dr. Zaffar Akhoon, Ladakh MP Haji Hanifa Jan, and Advisor to Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh Dr. Pawan Kotwal.
The meeting will once again be chaired by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai. Despite sticking to their four-point agenda, the sources say the LAB and KDA would have a joint sitting before meeting with the Union MoS for Home in New Delhi to deliberate strategy. By order of the Home Ministry dated 2.1.2023, a High Powered Committee was established, with Nityanand Rai, Minister of State for Home Affairs.
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