VoL Desk, April 08, 2022: As the veteran leaders in Ladakh are planning for agitation over four key demands of Ladakh, the Centre has reported to have sent feelers aimed at preventing agitation in Union Territory of Ladakh, reported the daily excelsior today.

To certain leaders, the centre has hinted that dialogue can be held with representatives of the two districts if they dilute demand for the Statehood.

There was no official comment from the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA). Quoting reliable sources, the news portal claimed that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) which earlier held talks with two bodies, appears to be in no mood to discuss the demand for the Statehood to Ladakh but is ready for talks after they dilute the demand.

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The veteran leaders from both the districts have explicitly expressed that everything shall be discussed on the table including all the four major demands that include Statehood for Ladakh, Sixth Schedule-like status, two Parliamentary seats instead of the present one, and the creation of more job opportunities.

The feeler by the Central Government clearly indicated that they were averse to the demand of the Statehood to Ladakh as they had fulfilled decades-old demand, which mainly originated in Leh district, for Union Territory status to the Himalayan region on August 5, 2019, the day erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir was stripped off special status and bifurcated into two UTs of J&K and Ladakh.

The BJP Ladakh has already dissociated itself from the demand for the Statehood to Ladakh raised by the LAB and KDA. The BJP is of the view that the grant of Union Territory status was a major demand of the Himalayan region which was fulfilled by the Central Government on August 5, 2019.

Sources indicated that the LAB and KDA too are in no mood to shun the demand for Statehood and want that the Union Home Ministry should discuss all demands on the table and offer its proposal as to what they can give to Ladakh. However, for that, the MHA had to call the meeting first.

Simultaneously, the two organizations are also gearing up for mass movement if there is no breakthrough on their demands. The LAB has already held its meeting and now a joint sitting of LAB and KDA is expected shortly. Pertinent to mention that on March 19, the Apex Body Leh convened a crucial meeting to discuss future plan of action to sustain the movement for key demands put forward to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Charging the Central Government with adopting “delaying tactics”, sources within the LAB and KDA said Nityanand Rai during talks with them on August 29 in Leh had assured the constitution of a high-level committee shortly for further dialogue but even after the passage of nearly six and half months, not even the Panel has been set up so far what to say of initiating the dialogue.