KARGIL, AUGUST 27, 2021: Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) in a joint emergency meeting of different stakeholders in Kargil appealed for complete shutdown on Saturday against the Centre government’s call to separate stakeholders for meeting. The KDA also appealed all stakeholders and individuals to boycott the meeting tomorrow with Parliamentary Standing Committee in Leh.

Co-Chairman KDA Asgar Karbalai addressing a press conference after the emergency meeting said that the Parliamentary Standing Committee and MoS Home Niti Anand Rai has invited different stakeholders separately for a meeting tomorrow including religious, student, prominent leaders, panchayat, political leaders and social organizations from Leh and Kargil while neglecting the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA). This shows that they are not sincere towards the issues of Ladakh.

Earlier, both Apex Body and KDA had separate meetings with Home Ministry and they had asked us to give name of committee members so that they could call the joint committee of Leh and Kargil to discuss the issues and concerns of Ladakh. He further said that on August 2 the KDA had a meeting with LAB where four key agendas were decided for Ladakh that include full-fledged statehood for Ladakh, demand for residential certificate on the pattern of previous Permanent Residence Certificate, commencement of recruitment, and constitutional Safeguard for Ladakh. Both the bodies had communicated the agendas to Home Ministry and planned to raise the issues jointly with Centre government but we have received no invitation from them since then.

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He said that the Central Government has once again tried to polarize the Ladakhi community by confronting religious, student and other fraternity against each other.

Now the Centre Government in a bit to polarize the community called different stakeholders for meeting which is clearly unacceptable and condemnable for the KDA, said Karbalai. The Apex Body in Leh has already expressed their resentment and have called for a complete shutdown tomorrow. In solidarity with Apex Body, we the KDA also announce complete shutdown in Kargil district that will lead to a Ladakh shutdown. We also appeal the taxi union, different transport associations, merchant associations, religious organisations, student associations, public representatives and other stakeholders to support the KDA and observe complete shutdown tomorrow, Karbalai added.

KDA Co-Chairman and former MLA Qamar Ali Akhoon said that the approach of Home Ministry in meeting at Delhi gave us the perception that the attitude of Centre has changed towards Ladakh. But as they have called different bodies for meeting while neglecting the KDA and Apex Body, we feel that their approach has not changed yet. They are not serious to resolve the issues of Ladakh. The Apex Body and KDA both are complete representation of whole Ladakh that has representatives from all the stakeholders and communities of Ladakh. As a representative of LAHDC Kargil Councillor Aga Syed Mujtaba said, “I would like to say that the centre government earlier also had tried to polarize the Ladakh community. But they will always fail in their intention. Because the KDA is a full-fledged representation of Kargil and no organisation will talk on behalf of Ladakh outside the ambit of KDA”. He appealed the councillors who are on a tour to Leh to boycott the meeting tomorrow with Parliamentary Standing Committee in Leh.