NEW DELHI: Ladakh chief secretary Ashish Kundra on Friday clarified on X that the Feb 4 discussions of the high power committee (HPC) on Ladakh — comprising representatives of the home ministry and Ladakh bodies like Apex Body Leh (ABL) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) — were wholesome and constructive, and that the govt is committed to a process of democratic consultation which involves all stakeholders of the UT.“Contrary to speculative media reports on the ongoing talks in HPC, the Delhi meeting with ABL & KDA was cordial and constructive…Rumours and twisted narratives are avoidable at this juncture,” Kundra said on X.His reference was to a TOI report published on Thursday, suggesting that the Centre had made it clear during the Feb 4 talks that Sixth Schedule status or statehood shall not be granted to Ladakh which could, instead, be offered a “territorial council model”.KDA leader Sajjad Kargili too posted on X that “during the Feb 4 HPC meeting, no expression such as ‘rejection’ was used”. “The govt raised certain objections and reservations regarding our draft…We presented and defended our demands with utmost sincerity and clarity. The next step now rests with the Centre to place its proposal before us. At the same time, we have clearly conveyed our position that the proposal of Article 371 along with a territorial council is not acceptable to us,” he stated. In a TV interview, Kundra had said that while ABL and KDA had mentioned their demand for Sixth Schedule status in the HPC meeting, home ministry representatives explained that Sixth Schedule was inserted in the Constitution merely in context of the northeast, to protect the rights of minority tribes within a state/UT. “Nowhere else in the country is a whole territory under the Sixth Schedule,” he said.On statehood demand, Kundra said Ladakh’s internal budget generation is a mere Rs 1,000 crore. “Can Ladakh be run on this small budget? We have to think about GPF and pension liability of govt servants in Ladakh, which is currently borne entirely by the Centre,” he pointed out.
