Ladakh groups defer hunger strike, next meeting with MHA on Feb 24

The representatives from Ladakh have decided to defer their plan of hunger strike after their meeting with Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai on Tuesday in Delhi. The next meeting is scheduled for February 24.

The representatives from Apex Body of Leh and the Kargil Democratic Alliance informed that the meeting with the high-powered committee of the Union Home Ministry held at the North Block discussed their demands and planned to meet again after formation of sub committees.

“The meeting decided to discuss threadbare our main demands: Statehood for Ladakh, inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and the constitution of the exclusive Public Service Commission for Ladakh on February 24 (Saturday),” read the joint statement of ABL and KDA.


They have also formed the joint sub-committee as agreed in the meeting to carry forward the exercise to look into the details of the issues and demands of the people of Ladakh.

The sub-committee comprises Thupstan Chhewang, Chering Dorjay Lakrook and Nawang Rigzin Jora representing the ABL and Qamar Ali Akhoon, Asgar Ali Karbalai and Mr Sajjad Kargili representing the KDA. They have conveyed the names of the members of the sub committee to Union Home Secretary, Ajay Kumar Bhalla.

“All members of the sub-committee are in Delhi and we look forward to fruitful discussions at the next meeting. In view of this significant development we have decided to drop for the time being our plan to go on hunger strike from tomorrow,” read the statement.

In Leh, the award-winning innovator Sonam Wangchuk along with a few locals decided to go for "fast unto death" to press for the demands of the people of the region.

The ABL and KDA were formed in Leh and Kargil after 2019 when Ladakh was carved out as a separate Union territory from J&K to strive for the rights of the people across the region. The representatives of the two bodies held the last round of talks with Rai on December 4, 2023. After the meeting, they submitted a detailed draft of demands to the MHA in January this year, seeking statehood, Sixth Schedule for the UT, a separate Public Service Commission and two seats in the Lok Sabha and one seat in the Rajya Sabha for Ladakh, when legislative assembly is granted to the region.