Days after Ladakh-based groups engaged in talks with the Centre announced an “in-principle understanding” on constitutional safeguards, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk on Monday termed last week’s meeting a “progressive step in the right direction”, but said “more needs to happen”.
Talking to The Tribune, Wangchuk also said that for confidence building, the Centre “shouldn’t take any step backward”.
Asked about the recent talks, Wangchuk said there was almost a breakthrough. “It’s not a final accord, but they agreed to a legislative body and the entire bureaucracy, including the Chief Secretary, will report to an elected leader. Even the APRs of the officers will be written by the elected leadership. In the meeting, authorities from the MHA agreed to this,” he said, adding that an understanding had been reached between the two sides.
He described the development as “a progressive step in the right direction” and said “more needs to happen”.
On statehood, Wangchuk said the Centre did not reject the demand outright but cited inadequate resources as a concern.
“There was a detailed discussion on whether sufficient revenue exists or not, and both sides agreed to study the issue. This indicates that if it is proved that adequate revenue exists, then they have no objection to granting statehood. This was conveyed by them; if they later change their stand, that is another matter,” he said.
On the protection framework, Wangchuk said the Centre had earlier proposed safeguards under Article 371 at the “council level”.
“In the latest meeting, they said they would provide it at the assembly level. If protection is being extended to the assembly and that assembly has authority over the bureaucracy, then it is certainly not a bad arrangement. So this is definitely progress,” he said.
He stressed that the gains made during the talks should be carried forward. “Whatever they expressed in the meeting, they should not go back on that,” he said. “There should be an honest assessment of the revenue aspect. If the revenue is there, then statehood should be granted.”
Calling for confidence building measures, Wangchuk said the Centre “shouldn’t take any step backward”.
“Regarding last year’s incident, all victims should be assisted, their concerns addressed and cases against them revoked,” he said.
The Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) and Leh Apex Body (LAB) have been holding talks with the Ministry of Home Affairs for the past five years. The latest round of sub-committee-level discussions between the MHA and Ladakh groups was held in New Delhi on Friday.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the LAB and KDA said they had reached an in-principle understanding with the Government of India on restoring democracy in Ladakh and providing constitutional safeguards on the lines of Articles 371A, 371F and 371G applicable to Nagaland, Sikkim and Mizoram.
