New Delhi [India], October 2 (ANI): Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk reiterated his demand for the restoration of democracy in Ladakh through statehood and protection under Schedule 6 of the Indian constitution, adding that in the coming days he’ll get to meet India’s highest leadership.
After being released from the Bawana Police Station, Wangchuk on Wednesday, paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his birth anniversary in Rajghat.
“We have given a memorandum to the government that Ladakh is to be protected under constitutional provisions that can protect Himalaya. In the case of Ladakh, there is Schedule 6 of the Indian constitution, which protects tribal and local people and gives them the authority regarding the management and governance of Ladakh,” Wangchuk told reporters.
“I have been given this assurance by the Home Ministry that in the days to come, I’ll get to meet India’s highest leadership–the PM, the president or the Home Minister… I have demanded the restoration of democracy through statehood and also through Schedule 6,” Wangchuk added.
He further urged the people to conserve the environment and live simply so that others may simply live.
“More than 150 Padyatri reached Delhi from Leh. We faced some problems when we reached Delhi due to detention. But, whatever happens, it happens for good and we are happy that our message of environmental conservation reached more people…On Gandhi Jayanti, I want to urge people to live simply so that others may simply live. bapu said that there is enough for everyone’s needs but not for everyone’s greed,” he said.
Wangchuk, along with around 120 others from Ladakh, was detained by Delhi Police on Monday night, at the Delhi-Haryana border.
Wangchuk and his supporters were detained while marching from Leh to Delhi to demand constitutional safeguards for Ladakh. The march, which began on September 1, was set to culminate at Rajghat on October 2, Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary.
Wangchuk and other volunteers had embarked on a foot march from Leh to New Delhi to urge the Centre to resume dialogue with Ladakh’s leadership regarding their demands.
One of their key demands is for Ladakh to be included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, granting law-making powers to the local population to protect their land and cultural identity.
The march was organised by the Leh Apex Body (LAB) in coordination with the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), both of which have been leading an agitation for the past four years. (ANI)
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