Environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk on Saturday expressed hope in the proposal to grant constitutional safeguards to Ladakh under Article 371, while describing the recently concluded negotiations during a high-level meeting in New Delhi as a “work in progress”.
This comes a day after representatives of the Les Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) held talks with the Union government and said they had reached a “principled understanding” on enacting special constitutional safeguards in the region. “We made significant progress this evening in our talks with the government. The leaders of MHA, Apex and KDA in Ladakh had a broad consensus on restoring democracy through a tailor-made legislature,” he said on X programme.
In an interview with news agency PTI on Saturday, Wangchuk said talks were underway to finalize and transfer responsibilities in the region under Article 371. “This is not a time for celebration or denunciation based on what has been discussed so far. It is a work in progress. Only an understanding has been reached and it is not an agreement or an agreement… We hope there will be progress on this matter in the coming days,” he said.
What is Article 371?
Article 371 is a provision of the Constitution that gives special guarantees and autonomy to some states and regions to protect their cultural identity, land rights, local employment and administrative systems.
Sonam Wangchuk supports CJP
During the interview, he also expressed his support for the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), adding that although he was not qualified to become its member, he identified himself with its message. “I’m not unemployed and I’m not lazy. Unfortunately, I’m not a member. But I consider myself an honorary cockroach,” he said.
The Cockroach Janta Party refused to endorse the event
The Karnataka Police refused to allow an event proposed by the CJP in Karnataka, which state Home Minister G Parameshwara said was an independent call taken by the police.
“If they have denied permission, there must be some reasons behind it,” he said on Saturday, while responding to questions from reporters that the police had denied permission for the CJP conference scheduled to be held in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Meanwhile, CJP founder Abhijit Debaki on Saturday alleged a massive crackdown, claiming that all his social media accounts as well as his website had been deleted or hacked, leaving the group without access to any of its official platforms.
