KDA to hold 3-day hunger strike from Aug 9 over statehood, Sixth schedule demand
Kargil, Aug 7: In a renewed push for statehood and constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule, the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) on Thursday announced a three-day hunger strike beginning August 9 in Kargil town.
The KDA is an amalgam of several political, religious, social, and trade bodies spearheading the agitation along with the Apex body Leh over the past several years in support of their demands, including statehood for Ladakh and the 6th Schedule, besides a full-fledged public service commission.
Addressing a press conference here, KDA co-chairman Asgar Ali Karbalai announced that the three-day hunger strike will begin on Saturday, August 9th, in Kargil town, and the leaders of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) have also been requested to join the protest and send a message to the Central Government that the people of Ladakh will not stay silent on their “genuine” demands.
KDA, along with LAB, has been holding talks with the Center over their four-point agenda—statehood, Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh, a dedicated Public Service Commission (PSC), and two parliamentary seats.
“The last meeting of KDA and the Leh Apex Body with the Ministry of Home Affairs took place almost two months ago. And in that last meeting, the issues of domicile, reservations, and recruitment were sorted out, and we were told that the next meeting will be held within a month to discuss our main agenda (statehood and Sixth Schedule), but they (Centre) are using delaying tactics by not holding the meeting,” Karbalai, flanked by other members of the KDA, said.
“We believe in peaceful agitation to raise our genuine, justified, and constitutionally right demands. We have put forth the four-point agenda, and the government addressed the issue of reservation, domicile, and recruitment issues, adding that with regard to two parliamentary seats, we were told that it cannot be done due to a freeze on the delimitation process till 2026, leaving only two main demands of statehood and the Sixth Schedule,” he said.
He said the KDA and the LAB have decided to launch an agitation from Kargil to convey a clear message to the country, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, that the people of Ladakh will not stay silent. “The KDA core group, in consultation with LAB, has decided to go for a three-day hunger strike from August 9 at 10 am and will culminate on August 11 at 4 pm with a massive public rally,” Karbalai said. He said the next course of action would be chalked out jointly and made public at the rally.
