Chhewang to front Ladakh talks as Wangchuk’s fast deepens divide

SRINAGAR: Former MP Thupstan Chhewang will head a Buddhist delegation in talks with Union govt on Ladakh’s demand for Sixth Schedule status and statehood after climate activist Sonam Wangchuk pressed on with his hunger strike.Leh Apex Body (LAB) announced Tuesday that all political parties will step aside, leaving religious representatives led by Chhewang to head the talks. Chhewang resigned as LAB chairman on July 5 and was succeeded by Wangchuk two days later, fueling speculation he would front the talks.Wangchuk began a 35-day fast on Sept 9, accusing Centre of stalling dialogue “on restoring Ladakh’s democratic rights”.Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, crafted for tribal areas in the Northeast, grants special protections over land, culture, and resources through autonomous councils. Since the 2019 bifurcation of J&K into two Union territories, Ladakhis have demanded similar safeguards, warning of demographic and industrial pressures.Union home ministry set up a high-powered panel in Jan 2023 following prolonged protests. Its last meeting with LAB and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) on May 27 yielded a domicile policy but no progress since.Kargil Autonomous Hill Development Council chairman M Jaffar Akhoon urged Wangchuk to call off his strike. “Whatever we are to achieve, it has to come from govt, be it statehood, Sixth Schedule, or any other benefit. These issues will be decided at the talks. If you go on a hunger strike before dialogue even begins, it will not be a good move,” Akhoon said.BJP functionaries also appealed for an end to the fast, warning that “outside activists with radical views” had joined the protest. The party also blamed LAB’s internal rifts for stalled talks, alleging Chhewang was sidelined.Wangchuk has linked his protest to Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) elections due in Oct — calling it a test of BJP’s credibility. “In the previous elections, the party listed Sixth Schedule for Ladakh as its first priority in its manifesto. But now, after five years, they want to bury that point,” he had said.BJP swept the 2020 LAHDC-Leh polls, winning 15 of 26 seats. The council was created in 1995 under then PM PV Narasimha Rao, with a parallel body for Kargil set up in 2003 by then J&K CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.