Members of the Ladakh civil society on Monday (June 1, 2026) said the Centre was backtracking from its promise made during the meeting on May 22 on “granting supreme powers to elected representatives over bureaucracy in the Union Territory”. They further alleged that the draft shared by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) recently was “watered down”.

“We appeal to the Centre to not allow the atmosphere of positivity to grow negative. There is scope for suspicion that the Centre was backtracking from its agreed position on granting supreme powers to elected representatives over bureaucracy in the region,” said climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who attended the sub-committee meeting in New Delhi on May 22.

Mr. Wangchuk was joined by leaders of the Ladakh Buddhist Association, including its president Tsering Dorjey Lakrook, and leaders of the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA). Both these bodies, which have engaged New Delhi in talks, are umbrella organisations of local social, political and religious groups active in Ladakh.  

“The May 22 meeting of the sub-committee with the Centre was historic. It was hailed by all. Everyone expressed happiness. It suggested a tailored democratic set-up for Ladakh. It was agreed that the elected representatives of the Legislative Assembly will have executive, financial and legal powers. It was agreed that the elected representatives will have supreme powers over bureaucracy, including the Chief Secretary. However, the draft shared by the Ladakh administration does not reflect what was agreed upon,” said Mr. Wangchuk.  

Mr. Wangchuk released the recorded minutes of the meeting with the Ministry on the occasion. “A few days ago, Mr. Tsering was shown the draft for his signature. However, it was not the same that was deliberated upon on May 22 in New Delhi. In fact, Mr. Tsering was denied permission to take a picture of the draft. It’s strange that no official means like email, letter etc., was used to forward the final draft to us. These things are sowing seeds of suspicions,” said Mr. Wangchuk.

The climate activist also played video statements of the government-identified leaders from Ladakh who attended the meeting on May 22, which included BJP leader and former Chief Executive Councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council-Leh (LAHDC-Leh) Tashi Gyalson, and Thupstan Chhewang, former MP.

“All had expressed happiness over the outcome of the May 22 meeting. It’s clear they welcomed the decision to have absolute powers with elected representatives over bureaucracy in Ladakh,” said Mr. Wangchuk. 

Meanwhile, Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra issued a fresh statement on the talks. “The May 22 talks were held in an open atmosphere. It was a breakthrough moment after years of dialogue over local aspirations. Under Article 371, a customised solution within the Constitution was deliberated upon to ensure the demands like safeguarding land, jobs and culture instead of the demands of Statehood and Sixth Schedule. The fact remains that jobs have already been reserved for locals through a unique reservation policy,” said Mr. Kundra.