Serious differences have emerged among Buddhist leaders of Ladakh following the September 9 meeting, with veteran leader and former Lok Sabha member Thupstan Chhewang describing the recent dialogue between the Leh Apex Body (LAB), Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as fruitful, with positive discussions on several key issues.
Notably, a day after the September 9 meeting, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk said there had been no progress on their core demands and threatened to intensify the agitation in Ladakh. The agitating groups were planning to hold a padyatra from September 19 to 24 if the government failed to come up with a concrete proposal within a week.
Rejecting Wangchuk’s statement, veteran Buddhist leader Thupstan Chhewang said several issues concerning Ladakh, including recruitment and constitutional safeguards, had been discussed extensively during the meeting.
“After prolonged deliberations, a consensus emerged on several aspects, including the demand for safeguards under Article 371, which was discussed during the May 22 meeting. While demands for statehood and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule had remained part of the broader political discourse, discussions eventually moved towards finding practical constitutional and administrative safeguards for Ladakh,” he said.
Thupstan Chhewang, who resigned as chairman of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) in July last year after leading the agitation for demands including statehood and extension of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to Ladakh, participated in the September 9 meeting with the MHA sub-committee.
Immediately after the talks, the LAB and KDA leadership expressed disappointment over the outcome, saying the government had failed to produce the much-awaited draft on a proposed elected body for the Union Territory.
Climate activist and LAB member Sonam Wangchuk said there had been “no special progress” since the May 22 meeting. He warned that the Ladakh groups could resume their agitation if major decisions were taken before an elected democratic body was established.
Chhewang, however, said the recent meeting between the LAB, KDA and the MHA was “fruitful” and witnessed positive discussions on several key issues concerning the Union Territory of Ladakh.
He expressed disappointment over the way the meeting’s outcome was presented to the public by the LAB and KDA, noting that several positive developments and points of consensus discussed during the meeting were not brought before the people.
Chhewang stated that he had generally refrained from appearing in public on these matters but felt compelled to speak out because of the “positive developments” achieved after several rounds of discussions.
Sonam Wangchuk Warns of Fresh Agitation
As reported earlier, social activist Sonam Wangchuk has warned of fresh protests from September 19 to 24 if the Centre fails to give an assurance within a week on the long-standing demands related to Ladakh.
Wangchuk said the groups had hoped that the talks would eliminate the need for further protests, but no assurances had been received so far.
“We are helpless. We were thinking that there would be no need to carry out a protest or a padyatra, but we have not received any assurance. If we don’t receive an assurance, then we would be forced to launch a massive agitation. The padyatra will now be held from September 19 to 24. However, we are still hopeful of receiving an assurance within a week,” he said.