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Social activist Sonam Wangchuk has once again warned the central government of agitation regarding the issues of Ladakh. He said on Thursday that if the government does not give concrete assurance on the demands of Ladakh within the next one week, a new agitation will be launched between September 19 and 24. Wangchuk said that a padyatra will also be taken out during this period.

Clear assurance not received from Home Ministry

Speaking to the media in Delhi, Wangchuk said that the representatives of Ladakh were hopeful that the demands would be resolved through talks and there would be no need for agitation. However, after the meeting with the sub-committee of the Home Ministry, he did not get any such clear assurance, which increased his disappointment. He said that he is still hopeful of getting a positive response from the government. But if no assurance is given within a week then the people of Ladakh will have to adopt the path of agitation again.

Ladakh group disappointed after the meeting

On Wednesday, representatives of Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) had held a meeting with Home Ministry officials. Many issues including granting statehood to Ladakh and protection of constitutional rights of the region were discussed in the conversation. Representatives of Ladakh say that before the meeting they were hopeful that a draft would be prepared regarding the proposed elected body at the level of the Union Territory. However, such a draft did not come up in the meeting.

KDA representative Sajjad Kargili said that the things said by the government will be considered satisfactory only when their written draft comes out. Only after this it can be seen how the proposal will actually be implemented on the ground.

Demand for statehood and constitutional protection

Ladakh was a part of Jammu and Kashmir till 2019. After changes in the provisions of Article 370, it was made a separate union territory. Since then, several groups in Ladakh, including LAB and KDA, have been demanding statehood, constitutional protection and an elected legislative body in the union territory. These organizations say that the situation is still not clear regarding the distribution of powers in the administration of Ladakh, especially the rights to law and order. In such a situation, if concrete steps are not taken by the Centre, there are indications that the movement will intensify again.