New Delhi: Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra on Friday clarified on Twitter that the discussions held on February 4 at the Ladakh High Power Committee (HPC), comprising representatives of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ladakh institutions like Apex Body Leh (ABL) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), were useful and constructive and the government is committed to a democratic consultative process involving all stakeholders in Ladakh.In a post on Ladakh, instead proposed a “Territorial Council Model”. KDA leader Sajjad Kargili also posted on X that “at the HPC meeting on February 4, expressions such as ‘refuse’ were not used.” “The government has raised certain objections and reservations against our draft… We have raised and defended our demands with utmost sincerity and clarity. The next step is for the Center to submit its proposals to us. At the same time, we have made our stand clear that the proposals of Article 371 and the Territory Commission are not acceptable to us,” he said. Speaking to a TV channel after the dialogue on February 4, Kundra said that while the proposal put forward by ABL and KDA at the HPC meeting mentioned the demand for Sixth Schedule status, the home ministry representative explained that the Sixth Schedule was inserted into the constitution only in the context of the Northeast to protect the rights of minority tribes in states/Union Territories. “Nowhere else in the country has an entire territory governed by the Sixth Schedule,” Kundra said.Regarding the statehood requirement, Kundra said that the internal budget of Ladakh is only Rs 1,000 crore. “Can Ladakh be run on such a small budget? We have to consider the total provident fund and pension liability of the Ladakh government civil servants, which are currently solely borne by the Centre,” he pointed out. Kundra said people need to think with an open mind about what is best for Ladakhis. “We must balance financial sustainability, democratic rights, cultural preservation, land rights and job opportunities,” he said. He confirmed that several models were discussed, including protection under Article 371, strengthening district councils, setting up territorial councils or federal territories with legislatures.
 on La.){kind=link}