Sonam Wangchuk On Fast As Talks on Ladakh Status Break Down

People came out on the streets and activist and environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk decided to go on a 21 day hunger strike after talks on Ladakh’s status broke down with the Union Home Ministry.

Speaking to the media Wangchuk said that the government has broken its promise.’

“Raghukul rit sada chali aayi pran jaye par wachan na jaye...This government claims Ram as their adarsh and Ram is all about maryada who never broke a promise. So we can hope this government will also not break the promises that they made to our people,” he said.

A sub-committee formed to look into the demands of Ladakh's people Monday failed to make any headway after two back-to-back meetings with central government functionaries.

The Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) have been demanding statehood for Ladakh, inclusion of the Union territory in the 6th Schedule of the Constitution and the setting up of an exclusive public service commission for the high-altitude region.

“Protecting the identity of Ladakh under Sixth Schedule was one of the top three promises of the BJP. But now they have backtracked and say we can only give you some constitutional safeguards. I don't understand when the Constitution has these safeguards laid out in the Sixth Schedule of Article 244 then why do you need to invent new provisions,” Wangchuk asked.

On Wednesday, thousands of people came out on streets in an impromptu rally and observed a day-long bandh today.

The Bandh was observed in Leh, and a rally was held at NDS stadium where different members of religious and political organizations took part.

The Home Ministry has emphasised the need for continuous dialogue to provide necessary Constitutional safeguards to the Union Territory of Ladakh.

Ladakh currently has one Lok Sabha constituency.

On February 3, Ladakh witnessed one of the largest-ever protests. On February 19, a third formal meeting of the HPC followed, where it was decided to form a subcommittee to discuss the issues on February 24.