Ladakh Leaders Accuse Centre of Reneging on Powers Pledge After Historic May 22 Meeting
मुख्य बातें
- •On May 22, 2026, a historic sub-committee meeting in New Delhi agreed that Ladakh’s elected representatives would have supreme executive, financial, and legal powers over the bureaucracy, including the Chief Secretary.
- •Civil society leaders, including Sonam Wangchuk and LBA President Tsering Dorjey Lakrook, allege that a recent draft shared by the MHA significantly waters down the agreed commitments.
- •Leaders expressed concern over the lack of transparency in sharing the draft, including denial of permission to photograph the document and absence of official communication methods.
- •Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra acknowledged the May 22 talks as a breakthrough but did not address the discrepancy between the agreed-upon powers and the draft circulated later.
Leaders from Ladakh’s civil society have accused the Union government of backtracking on a historic agreement made during a May 22 meeting in New Delhi, in which it was agreed that elected representatives in the Union Territory would be granted supreme executive, financial, and legal powers over the bureaucracy—including the Chief Secretary. Speaking at a press conference on June 1, 2026, climate activist and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk, along with representatives from the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), alleged that a recent draft shared by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) significantly dilutes the commitments made during the meeting.
