Amid strain in talks between Ladakhi representatives and the Centre, a top official has said that Ladakhi leaders are demanding Article 370-like provisions where laws passed by parliament cannot be extended to the Union Territory without the consent of Ladakh’s proposed elected body.
On Thursday, the Ladakhi leadership rejected a draft proposal presented by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The main contentious issue was the powers of a proposed elected body and the constitutional safeguards for Ladakh. The draft proposal contained administrative and political framework for the Union Territory including constitutional safeguards. The Ladakhi leadership, however rejected the proposal and blamed the Centre for backtracking from the promises it has made in previous meetings. “I want to make one thing very clear that the constitutional amendment and the kind of democratic structure the people of Ladakh want will emerge through discussion and deliberation. We do not want to submit a draft unilaterally. We want a framework that has the broad agreement of Ladakh’s leadership.
After meeting on Thursday, the Union Home Ministry provided a 32-page draft proposal to Ladakhi leadership.
Ashish Kundra, Chief Secretary of Ladakh, said they have asked for constitutional guarantees which include that no act of parliament would apply to Ladakh unless the proposed body gave its consent on certain subjects. Kundra said the draft proposal will not be submitted unilaterally. He said the constitutional amendments and proposed democratic structure in Ladakh will only emerge through talks. We had expected this to happen in a positive manner,” said Kundra.
The representatives of Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Front blamed the Centre for backtracking from understandings reached during earlier rounds of negotiations.
