Ladakh-based groups demanding more rights to the Union territory have sought a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his two-day visit, but the minister is unlikely to meet them as the government wants to wait for the conclusion of sub-committee-level talks scheduled for May 22 to decide the next steps, people aware of the developments said on Wednesday.
The home minister may “strictly restrict his trip to pay respects to the holy relics of Lord Buddha on May 1 and meet local Ladakh administration and ITBP officials,” the officials added. Shah arrives in Leh on Thursday afternoon.
The itinerary of the minister’s visit has certainly not yet been announced, and the groups, which want a “meaningful dialogue” on their demands for statehood and protection under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, said they still hoped to sit down with Shah.
Meanwhile, officials said all 83 detainees, who were detained along with climate activist Sonam Wangchuk after protests turned violent on September 24 last year, are now out on bail. Wangchuk was released last month on the directives of the central government. But no decision has been taken yet to drop the cases against them.
The holy relics of Lord Buddha arrived in Leh on Wednesday for public display from May 1 to 15. “The arrival of the holy relics has blessed the entire region,” said Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, who received the relics at Leh airport along with senior officials.
“Although the antiquities have been exhibited internationally in the past, this is the first time that the antiquities have been taken out of their original place of preservation for display within India,” Saxena added.
Apart from Shah, several Union ministers, ambassadors, chief ministers of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim and representatives of various Buddhist organizations will visit Leh to attend the event.
Kargil-based politician and KDA (Kargil Democratic Alliance) leader Sajjad Kargili told HT, “Since the home minister is coming to Leh, we hope he will meet us so that statehood and protection under the Sixth Schedule can be discussed directly with him.”
“We haven’t had the time yet,” he added.
The Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) held a meeting on Tuesday in Leh to discuss Shah’s visit. “In the past, Shah himself has expressed his desire to chair the HPC (high-level committee) meeting in Ladakh, and this is the right time for us if Shah holds a meeting during his stay in Leh,” LAB co-chair Tshering Durgay said at a press conference in Leh on Tuesday.
The talks have been stalled since the September 24 violence in Leh during protests over demands for statehood and protection under the Sixth Schedule, in which four people were killed.
Saxena announced on Sunday that the Center has decided to resume talks with Ladakh representatives to discuss the various demands of the Union Territory, with a meeting of the Political Dialogue Sub-Committee scheduled for May 22. On Monday, Saxena notified the creation of five new districts in Nubra, Cham, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass, stressing that decentralization will strengthen grassroots governance and ensure faster delivery of services to remote areas, while opening new avenues for employment and entrepreneurship.
However, Ladakh groups downplayed the significance of the May 22 meeting.
The state of Ladakh was created on 5 August 2019 after the Center effectively abrogated Article 370, which had given special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two union states – Jammu and Kashmir with a legislature and Ladakh without a legislature. The peoples of the region, who at the time hoped that recognition as a federal state would bring development and prosperity to the region, expressed disappointment at the slow progress. This all broke out in September.
