SRINAGAR: Ending weeks of uncertainty, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ladakh leaders in Delhi on Friday released the signed Minutes of Meeting of the May 22 meeting mentioning safeguards under Article 371 for Ladakh and a UT-level elected body.
Meanwhile, the informal talks between MHA officials led by Additional Secretary in the MHA, Prashant Sitaram Lokhande, and leaders of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) and the Ladakh MP were held in Leh on Friday.
During the meeting, both sides endorsed the minutes, and, accordingly, the draft of the meeting was released.
The leaders of LAB and KDA had been demanding release of minutes of the meeting during which both sides had agreed in principle on granting safeguards to Ladakh under Articles 371 (A and J) and a UT-level elected body. Owing to a delay in release of the draft of the meeting, Ladakh observed a complete shutdown on June 23. Both the groups had accused the MHA of backtracking on its promises.
As per the minutes, the leaders from Ladakh proposed that the bureaucracy may be made accountable to the elected government. “It was agreed that in terms of functions and civil servants for the subjects under the purview of the UT-level elected body, the control and supervision will be exercised by the elected executive body.”