Maintaining that the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) is determined on its two agendas, the 11 member delegation which met the Home Ministry of India Thursday stated that they are hopeful of a positive result and have been assured any decision related to Ladakh region will have their confidence.
An 11 member delegation comprising of mainstream leaders, CEC Kargil, religious, student and civil society heads met the Home Ministry team headed by MOS Home GK Reddy in New Delhi on Thursday.
Sources said that the meeting started at around 11:10 am at the Home Ministry and lasted till 2:20 pm. During the meeting all the delegation members from Kargil were given appropriate time to present their demands and views before the MHA team.
They said that the meeting was chaired by MOS Home GK Reddy in presence of Union Home Secretary and Additional Secretary of Home Ministry.
Expressing their satisfaction over the maiden Kargil based leadership meeting in New Delhi, the KDA members who met the MOS Home told that they continue to stand on two agendas which include the restoration of Article 370 and 35A (Pre-August 05, 2019 status) and a full-fledged statehood for Ladakh instead of UT with the legislature and the same demands were presented before Home Ministry team which heard the delegation patiently.
Qamar Ali Akhoon, the co-chairperson of KDA said that “We told them that the pre-August 05, 2019 status must be restored. We are against UT status. The position must be restored early since the people are suffering.”
“Our stand is against the demand of UT with a legislature for the region instead demand a full-fledged state with a legislature.”
He said that the MOS Home assured that more meetings will take place and the demands raised by them will be discussed with the Prime Minister and Home Minister of India.
“We have been asked to provide members from KDA to be included in the committee constituted earlier by the Home Ministry headed by MOS Home GK Reddy which will have members from Leh as well,” he said.
“Besides the demands, we have clearly intimated them about the zero developmental works taking place in the region making people are suffer,” he said.
“The government assured us that there was a delay due to the ongoing pandemic but everything will take a pace very soon,” Akhoon said.
Asghar Ali Karbalai the Co-chairperson of KDA said that “We presented our demands and they patiently heard all of us and assured us that it’s just a beginning more such meetings will be held to deliberate on the remaining issues related to the region.”
He said that the MOS Home assured that the central government is sincere towards the region and is concerned about the demands.
Karbalai said that the MOS Home assured that a team from the central government will soon visit Ladakh and it will have Union Ministers who will hold deliberations there as well.
He maintained that their delegation is satisfied with the meeting and assurances given by the MOS Home related to the demands raised by them.
“It is for the very first time in history that a team of Kargil based leadership has been called to New Delhi for talks with the highest leadership of Indi,” Karbalai said.
Chief Executive Councillor (CEC) Kargil Feroz Ahmad Khan who was also part of the 11 member delegation said that KDA has only two agendas that include the restoration of Article 370 and 35A which gave us the complete land and Job protection and other safeguards.
He said that now when the matter is sub-judice if the central government is sincere towards the people of the region and want to empower Ladakhi’s they must give a full-fledged statehood to Ladakh.
Khan said that grievances were also raised during the meeting which includes the discrimination towards Kargil district adding that the committee headed by MOS Home will have leaders from both the districts so that further dialogue and discussion will start.
This is for the first time Kargil leadership has been recognized and called for talks to New Delhi and we are told that this is just the beginning and any decision related to the region will have your confidence.”
Notably, it was barely three days after the leaders of different political parties of J&K held talks with the Prime Minister of India, KDA received an invitation from the Home Ministry to hold talks with the MoS Home GK Reddy about the demands raised by them—(KNO)