Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk with supporters blows whistles after breaking their indefinite fast following the Union Home Ministry's letter assuring that the next meeting with Ladakh groups will be held on December 3, at Ladakh Bhawan, in New Delhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and others on Monday ended their fast in the national capital after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) promised to resume talks with them on December 3 on their demands for Ladakh, including statehood and Sixth Schedule Status.
The decision to call off the fast came as MHA Joint Secretary (Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh Division) Prashant Lokhande met the activists at Delhi's Ladakh Bhawan where they were sitting on a protest since October 6.
He handed over a letter from the Ministry saying that the high-powered committee, which was holding talks with representatives from Ladakh, will meet on December 3.
limate activist Sonam Wangchuk with supporters shows the Union Home Ministry's letter.
Credit: PTI Photo
As they were handed over the letter, Wangchuk and other activists decided to break their fast and called off their sit-in.
"On the 16th day of our fast, I am happy to say that our main appeal has been resolved. Just now, the Joint Secretary, MHA came and handed me this letter, which says the talks going on between the apex body of Leh and the KDA in Kargil with the central government will be resumed very soon by December," he said.
Expressing hope that the talks between the MHA and the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance would be positive not just for Ladakh but for the whole nation, he said, "I just hope that I do not ever again have to do another fast for this reason and it will result in a very happy ending."
Ladakh MP Mohmad Haneefa said, "we had to go back to protest because the talks were not resumed even after the Lok Sabha) election. We are happy that the talks are being resumed and hope that they will continue till a solution is found. We hope that the government will take these talks seriously and our issues will be resolved."
Wangchuk (58) and others had embarked on a ‘Delhi Chalo Padayatra’ and were interrupted at Delhi border with police detaining them citing prohibitory orders on September 30. Wangchuk, who was immortalised in Amir Khan-starrer ‘Three Idiots’, was leading a group of around 150 people from Leh in the ‘yatra’.
The march that began in September was organised by the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), which are spearheading an agitation for the past four years demanding statehood for Ladakh, a public service commission for Ladakh and separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts. The Sixth Schedule provides for the administration of some tribal areas as autonomous entities.