Sandeep Bhat
Early Times Report
Jammu, July 19: Uncertainty prevails over the next round of talks between the agitating Ladakhi groups and the High-Powered Committee (HPC) of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), as the proposed meeting scheduled for July 20 has not yet materialized.
Although renowned environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk suspended his planned 35-day hunger strike last week after
assurances that the talks would be held on July 20, no formal invitation has yet been extended to Ladakhi leaders by the MHA.
On July 12, Chering Dorje Lakrook—President of the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA), Co-Chairman of the Leh Apex Body, and a former minister—had announced that Sonam Wangchuk deferred his fast following a proposal from the Centre to advance the next round of talks on the core demands of statehood and inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Cons The proposed meeting scheduled for July 20 has not yet materialized.
No formal invitation has yet been extended to Ladakhi leaders by the MHA.
Sonam Wangchuk has decided to defer his hunger strike as fresh proposal has come from the Centre to hold talks on July 20
Wangchuk, who recently became a member of the Leh Apex Body, had earlier declared that he would begin his hunger strike on July 15 if the Centre failed to initiate fresh dialogue with the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) before that date.
Lakrook had stated: “Since a fresh proposal has come from the Centre to hold talks on July 20, and there is only a short gap between July 15 and 20, Sonam Wangchuk has decided to defer his hunger strike.”
However, expressing caution, he added: “We have to wait and see if the Ministry of Home Affairs actually invites us for talks on July 20. More importantly, we need to ensure that key issues like statehood and the Sixth Schedule are part of the agenda. We don’t want to remain stuck discussing unemployment alone, as several rounds of talks on jobs have already been held without meaningful progress.” | 