Ladakh-based groups demanding more rights for 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 because the government wants to wait for the conclusion of sub-committee level talks scheduled for May 22 to decide the next steps, people familiar with the development said on Wednesday.
The home minister, the officials added, may “strictly restrict his trip to pay respects to the Holy Relics of the Lord Buddha on May 1 and meet the local Ladakh administration and ITBP officials”. Shah reaches Leh on Thursday afternoon.
To be sure, the itinerary for the minister’s visit has not been publicised, and the groups, who want a “meaningful dialogue” on their demands of statehood and protections under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution said they were still hopeful of getting a sit-down with Shah.
Meanwhile, all 83 detainees, who were taken into custody along with the climate activist Sonam Wangchuk after protests turned violent on September 24 last year, are now out on bail, the officials said. Wangchuk was released last month following directions from the central government. There is, however, no decision yet on dropping the cases against them.
The Holy Relics of the Lord Buddha arrived in Leh on Wednesday for public display from May 1 to 15. Lieutenant governor VK Saxena, who received the relics at the Leh airport along with senior officials, said “the arrival of the holy relics has blessed the entire region”.
“While the relics have been exhibited internationally in the past, it is for the first time that the relics have been brought out from their original place of preservation, for exposition within India,” Saxena added.
Apart from Shah, several union ministers, ambassadors, chief ministers of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim and representatives of various Buddhist organisations will be visiting Leh for the event.
Kargil-based politician and KDA (Kargil Democratic Alliance) leader Sajjad Kargili told HT, “since the home minister is coming to Leh, we are hopeful that he will meet us so that the statehood and protection under the Sixth Schedule can be discussed directly with him.”
“We are yet to get a time,” he added.
The Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) held a meeting on Tuesday in Leh to discuss Shah’s visit. Chering Dorjay, co-chairperson of LAB, said in a press conference in Leh on Tuesday that : “In the past, Shah had himself expressed his desire to chair an HPC (high powered committee) meeting in Ladakh and this is the opportune time for us if Shah holds a meeting during his stay in Leh”.
The talks have halted since the September 24 violence in Leh during the protests over the demand for statehood and protections under the Sixth Schedule, in which four people were killed.
Saxena announced on Sunday that the Centre has decided to resume talks with the representatives of Ladakh to discuss various demands for the Union Territory, with a meeting of the sub-committee for political dialogue scheduled on May 22. On Monday, he notified the creation of five new districts of Nubra, Sham, Changthang, Zanskar, and Drass, underlining that decentralisation would strengthen grassroots governance and ensure faster service delivery to remote areas, while opening new avenues for employment and entrepreneurship.
The Ladakh groups have, however, downplayed the importance of the May 22 meeting.
The UT of Ladakh was created on August 5, 2019 after the Centre effectively abrogated Article 370, which used to bestow special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and split the erstwhile state into two UTs – J&K with a legislative assembly and Ladakh without one. People of the region, who hoped at the time that the recognition as a UT would bring development and prosperity to the region, have since expressed disappointment at the slow progress. All of this erupted in September.
