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6th Schedule inclusion: Ladakh delegation to meet Amit Shah today
MP Thupstan Chhewang said the constitutional safeguards will be discussed with the home minister in the meeting.
An 11-member delegation led by former MPs Thiksay Rinpoche and Thupstan Chhewang will meet home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday to press their demand for constitutional safeguards to Ladakh under the 6th Schedule of the Constitution.
“The home minister had to meet us today, but the meeting has been deferred to Wednesday because of his busy schedule,” said Chhewang.
He said the constitutional safeguards will be discussed with the home minister in the meeting.
“We are confident of getting it because the home minister had given us his commitment. In fact, he had invited us to meet him soon after Leh Hill Development Council elections, but we could not go to Delhi because of Covid pandemic,” he said.
“Delay happened on our end but we are now hopeful of a fruitful discussion. We are confident that the discussion will pave the way for the constitutional safeguards to allay our fears,” said Chhewang.
Besides Rinpoche and Chhewang, other members of the delegation include former BJP minister Chering Dorjay, Leh chief executive councillor Tashi Gyalson, sitting BJP MP and Ladakh unit president Jamyang Tsering Namgyal.
On December 21, Apex Body of People’s Movement had decided to reach out to the opinion-makers in Leh and Kargil districts to press for the UT’s inclusion in the 6th Schedule of Constitution.
The umbrella group includes political parties and religious organisations and Leh-based Ladakh Buddhist Association. The safeguards would also guarantee more teeth to the two hill development councils of Leh and Kargil with legislative powers.
