KDA announces 3-day hunger strike to press for Ladakh demands
‘Modi govt using delaying tactics by not holding meeting’, says Karbalai
Kargil: The Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) has announced a three-day hunger strike in Kargil from Saturday against the delay by the Indian government in holding the next round of talks concerning the demand for Statehood and Sixth Schedule for Ladakh region of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, speaking to reporters in Kargil, KDA co-chairman Asgar Ali Karbalai said, “The KDA core group, in consultation with Leh Apex Body (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”. He invited people across Ladakh to join the hunger strike. He said that the LAB leaders have also been requested to join the protest and send a message to New Delhi that the people of Ladakh will not stay silent on their genuine demands.
“The last meeting of KDA and LAB with the Ministry of Home Affairs took place almost two months ago. And in that last meeting, we were told that the next meeting will be held within a month to discuss our main agenda (statehood and Sixth Schedule) but they (New Delhi) are using delaying tactics by not holding the meeting,” Karbalai, flanked by other members of the KDA, said.
He said the KDA and the LAB have decided to launch an agitation from Kargil to convey a clear message to New Delhi, especially Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah that the people of Ladakh will not stay silent.
KDA, along with LAB, has been holding talks with the Indian govt over their demands including Statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh. The two outfits have been spearheading an agitation jointly over the past several years in support of their demands.
“We believe in peaceful agitation to raise our genuine, justified and constitutionally right demands”, Karbalai said, adding that the people of Ladakh would resist any attempt to put the main demands in the cold storage.
