Fate of May 22 Sub-Committee Meet with Ladakh Leaders Hangs in Balance

The Home Ministry has scheduled a sub-committee meeting on May 22 in Delhi with three LAB and three KAD members. As of May 2, LAB and KAD have not decided whether to attend; Lakrook indicated that LAB will consult with KDA to take a call. The discussions are set against Ladakh’s ongoing demands for greater rights, including statehood and constitutional safeguards, about which the Centre has yet to offer clear concessions.

The article notes that the fate of the May 22 sub-committee meeting hangs in balance after the inconclusive talks. Chering Dorjay Lakrook says no decision on attending the May 22 meeting in Delhi has been taken yet. The home ministry has called a sub-committee meeting on May 22 with three members each from the LAB and the KAD. Lakrook urges the Centre to clarify what it is prepared to offer (statehood, Sixth Schedule safeguards, release of 83 people), arguing that there must be a two-way exchange. He also states that LAB will meet with KDA at the May 22 meeting to decide attendance, given the Buddha Purnima festival observances in Ladakh.

An inconclusive meeting on Thursday between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Ladakh leaders concluded without an agreement on core demands. Shah reportedly refused two proposals from Ladakh groups to convene a Ladakh-based high-powered committee and to convert the May 22 meeting into a broader high-powered committee process intended to yield concrete ground-level results. The meeting in Delhi was attended by Leh Apex Body co-convener Chering Dorjay Lakrook, Ladakh lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, former MP Thupstan Chhewang, Kargil MP Hanifa Jan, and CEC of Kargil hill council Dr Mohd Jaffer Akhoon.