MoS Home Affairs meets Ladakh groups demanding Statehood, Sixth Schedule

Meeting came hours after two Ladakh-based organisations called for a shutdown in the Union Territory

Hours after two Ladakh-based organisations called for a shutdown in the Union Territory, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai on Saturday met the protesting members in Leh and listened to their demands, including Statehood and special Constitutional position on the lines of Sixth Schedule. Mr. Rai triggered sharp reactions from local organisations when he invited only the elected members of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDC) from Leh and Kargil to meet him during his visit to the Union Territory. The Leh Apex Body (LAB), comprising religious and political organisations, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, from Leh district, and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), comprising several groups from Kargil, described the MoS’ invitation to the elected representatives as “a move to divide the people of Ladakh”.