MHA Seeks Joint Draft from Ladakh Bodies Ahead of Next Round of Talks

SRINAGAR: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) to prepare and submit a fresh joint draft of their demands before inviting them for the next round of talks in New Delhi, The Daily Excelsior has reported.

According to the report, the LAB held a meeting in Leh to finalise its part of the draft, which will then be shared with the KDA to develop a consensus-based document. “The LAB is working on the draft. It held a meeting in Leh today to discuss and finalise its points in the draft. Thereafter, it will seek draft from the KDA. Later, both the organisations will sit and prepare the document with consensus,” LAB co-chairman Chering Dorjay Lakruk told Excelsior.

Lakruk said the joint draft will represent the consolidated position of both organisations. “We will deliberate and discuss all points to be included in the draft before submitting it to the MHA,” he added.

While Lakruk refrained from disclosing the specific contents of the draft, Excelsior quoted sources as saying that it will outline the key demands of the LAB and KDA, including statehood for Ladakh, inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, release of detainees held after the September 24 violence, and guarantees for the rights and protections of Ladakh’s residents.

The sources further told Excelsior that legal advisors of the LAB are assisting in the drafting process to ensure that the submission addresses all technical aspects and “leaves no lacunae” for the MHA to question. The draft, they added, is expected to be ready in the coming days after joint deliberations between both bodies.

The next round of dialogue, to be chaired by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, will reportedly be held under the High Powered Committee (HPC) framework instead of the Sub Committee format that last met on October 22 in New Delhi. The HPC will include six representatives each from the LAB and KDA, in addition to the Ladakh MP, the Kargil Hill Council Chairperson, and senior officials from the MHA and the Union Territory administration.

The Excelsior report noted that the dialogue process had earlier broken down following the September 24 violence in Leh, in which four civilians were killed during protests called by the LAB’s youth wing demanding an earlier date for talks with the Centre. The MHA subsequently announced a judicial inquiry into the incident, headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Justice BS Chauhan.

The inquiry will examine “the circumstances leading to the serious law and order situation, the police action and the resultant unfortunate deaths of four people,” as per the MHA’s notification.

Following the announcement of the judicial probe, formal talks between the MHA and the Ladakh representatives resumed on October 22 after a five-month hiatus. Although the discussions were preliminary, the LAB and KDA members described the meeting as “useful”, noting that MHA officials appeared serious about addressing their demands, Excelsior added.