Ladakh leader reaches Delhi, but Centre sends no invite for special status talks

The Ladakhi leadership accused the Centre of cold-shouldering them after no invitation arrived for the talks that were supposed to be held on Thursday with Union home ministry officials over special status for the region.

Ladakhi activist Sonam Wangchuk said he travelled to Delhi on Thursday to participate in the talks, but regretted that no invitation came and the meeting was not held.

There was no word from the home ministry till late in the night.

The talks between the Centre and two main Ladakhi groups — the Leh Apex Council and the Kargil Democratic Alliance — hit a roadblock on October 15 with both sides accusing each other of intransigence. The proposed meeting on Thursday was expected to put the dialogue back on track.

Last Friday, the Ladakhi groups had rejected a draft proposal presented by the home ministry, alleging that the Centre had backtracked on its commitments on Article 371 (special powers) and a Union Territory-level body to exercise executive and legislative powers.

The next day, Ladakh chief secretary Ashish Kundra had claimed that the Ladakhi leaders were seeking powers akin to those available under Article 370, adding that it had already been abrogated and could not be brought back.

Leh Apex Body chairman Chering Dorjay Lakrook told The Telegraph that Thursday’s meeting did not happen as “they did not call us”.

“It was decided on October 15 in Leh that there would be a meeting in Delhi on October 22. We were asked earlier to send a reply on October 18 to their draft proposal, but there was a delay of a day and we did it on October 19. We were not that late. They could have invited us,” he said.

Lakrook said the Centre was resorting to “dilly-dallying tactics”.

“If there was any seriousness, they would have held the talks swiftly and announced some decision. It can happen in a day. Initially, they said they would send the bill to Parliament during the winter session, but it is not possible now.”

Wangchuk said the Centre had reneged on its commitments, offering the Ladakhi leadership too little. He told reporters in Delhi that the October 15 draft proposal had proposed a Union Territory-level council which would be subordinate to the lieutenant governor.

“The LG sahab would take all decisions. Even the chief secretary was not under it (the proposed council). The council would have powers over some middle-rung officer. They backtracked on everything,” Wangchuk said.

“During the October 15 meeting, they urged us with folded hands not to call that meeting a failure. We asked for a meeting the next day, but they said it cannot happen (so fast). Then they pleaded that the meeting be held on October 22. That is why I am here,” he said.