Committed to providing necessary safeguards to Ladakh, says Shah

Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday assured a delegation from Ladakh that the Centre was committed to providing necessary constitutional safeguards to the region, according to an official statement.

A six-member delegation of the Apex Body, Leh (ABL) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) from the Union territory met Shah in the Capital, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) said in a statement.

MHA statement said that Shah told the delegation that the committee appointed by the government to look into their statehood and other demands has been discussing the modalities to provide such Constitutional safeguards.

“He assured that the High Powered Committee on Ladakh constituted to look into the demands of ABL and KDA have been discussing the modalities to provide such constitutional safeguards,” it said.

The ABL and the KDA have been demanding statehood for Ladakh, the 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.

A statement issued by the two organisations said that a sub-committee held a meeting with officials of the MHA and the advisor “of the Union Territory of Ladakh, which ended without any concrete outcome”.

The statement added: “Subsequently, the sub-committee held a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence that too didn’t result in any positive outcome.”