ABL, KDA Unimpressed: ‘Meeting Ended Without Any Concrete Outcome’

New Delhi: A six-member delegation of Apex Body, Leh (ABL) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) from Union Territory of Ladakh called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, today.
“Union Home Minister assured the delegation that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Government of India is committed to provide necessary Constitutional safeguards to the Union Territory of Ladakh,” reads an official statement issued by the government.
“He assured that the High Powered Committee on Ladakh constituted to look into the demands of ABL and KDA have been discussing the modalities to provide such Constitutional safeguards,” it said, adding, “Home Minister expressed that the consultative mechanism established through this High Powered Committee should continue to engage on issues such as measures to protect the region’s unique culture and language, protection of land and employment, inclusive development and employment generation, empowerment of LAHDCs and examine constitutional safeguards for positive outcomes.”
High Powered Committee under the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, it said, has been working actively with the representatives of ABL and KDA.
“A significant progress has been made. A sub-committee constituted by the HPC, is also actively engaged with the Ministry of Law and other experts.”
The second meeting of the said sub-committee was held today which was attended by the representatives of ABL and KDA, it said.
“Senior officers of Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Legal Affairs and Legislative Department were also present,” it said, adding, “The meeting was held in a cordial manner and various issues pertaining to land, employment and constitutional safeguards progressed for the benefit of the people of Ladakh.”
The Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) have been demanding statehood for Ladakh, inclusion of the Union territory in the 6th Schedule of the Constitution and the setting up of an exclusive public service commission for the high-altitude region.
“The meeting ended without any concrete outcome,” reads a statement issued by the two organisations.
According to the statement, the organisations have decided to devise a future course of action after consultation with the people of the two districts of Ladakh – Leh and Kargil.
The sub-committee was formed following a meeting held on February 19 between the High Powered Committee (HPC) for Ladakh headed by Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai and a 14-member delegation of the LAB and the KDA, representing various organisations of the Union Territory.
Thupstan Chhewang, Chering Dorjay Lakruk and Nawang Rigzin Jora, representing the LAB, and Qamar Ali Akhoon, Asgar Ali Karbalai and Sajjad Kargili, representing the KDA, are members of the sub-committee.
Akhoon, Chhewang, Lakruk and Karbalai signed the press statement issued on Monday.
The other demands of the delegation include two Lok Sabha seats (one for Kargil and one for Leh) and job opportunities for the residents of the Union Territory, sources said earlier.
Ladakh currently has one Lok Sabha constituency.
Ladakh, which no longer has any Assembly constituency, was earlier part of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, were abrogated on August 5, 2019, and the erstwhile state was bifurcated into the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
According to the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, Jammu and Kashmir has been made a Union Territory with a Legislative Assembly and Ladakh a Union Territory without any Assembly.
There were four representatives from Ladakh in the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.
The BJP-led Centre assured the delegation from Ladakh in December last year that it was committed to fast-tracking the development of the Union Territory and meeting the aspirations of the people in the region.

Agencies