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Sonam Wangchuk, a key campaigner for constitutional safeguards for Ladakh, on Tuesday said the proposed “fast unto death” protest will be reviewed next week, depending on the outcome of talks with the Center on their various demands, including statehood for the Union Territory. Will do.

Mr Wangchuk said, “We will call a very big public meeting in Leh city on February 26 and either thank the government for accepting the demands of the people of Ladakh or go on a fast unto death if the talks fail.” Told PTI to start a fast unto death from Tuesday in support of the demands.

The Ladakh leadership, which is currently camping in the national capital, on Monday temporarily called off the “fast unto death” programme, citing the development as important after a fresh round of talks with the central government.

It said the Center has agreed to discuss the demands of statehood for Ladakh, inclusion of the Union Territory in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and setting up of a Special Public Service Commission for the high altitude region.

The agreement was agreed during a meeting between the High Powered Committee (HPC) for Ladakh chaired by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai and a 14-member delegation of the apex body of Leh (ABL) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (ABL). KDA), represents various organizations of the Union Territory.

The meeting also decided to constitute a joint sub-committee to take forward the exercise of considering the details of the demands.

“We will wait till the February 24 meeting of the sub-committee and the return of our leaders to Leh on February 25. We will call a very big public meeting in Leh city the next day to thank the government for meeting our demands either Mr. Wangchuk, winner of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, said, “If the talks fail, we will start a fast unto death.”

The demands of the delegation include two Lok Sabha seats – one for Kargil and one for Leh – and job opportunities for residents of the Union Territory. Ladakh currently has one Lok Sabha seat.

Ladakh, which no longer has any assembly constituency, was earlier part of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, were abrogated on August 5, 2019, and the erstwhile state was divided into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

As per the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, Jammu and Kashmir has been made a Union Territory with a Legislative Assembly and Ladakh has been made a Union Territory without a Legislative Assembly.

The previous Jammu and Kashmir Assembly had four representatives from Ladakh.

The BJP-led Center assured the Ladakh delegation in December that it was committed to the rapid development of the Union Territory and fulfilling the aspirations of the people of the region.

This assurance was given in the meeting with HPC for Ladakh.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) constituted the HPC for Ladakh under the chairmanship of Shri Rai to discuss the measures necessary to protect the unique culture and language of the region, keeping in mind the geographical location and strategic importance of the region. .

The HPC has also been constituted for measures related to protection of land and employment, inclusive growth and employment generation in the region, steps related to empowerment of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDCs) of Leh and Kargil and constitutional safeguards. The measures mentioned above may be provided to ensure safety.

Many organizations in Ladakh had demanded a separate union territory for the region for decades and this demand was fulfilled on August 5, 2019. However, KDA and ABL held protests in various places including New Delhi, Jammu and Ladakh in recent days. , highlighted their key demands.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)