No statehood, Ladakh to get unique elected body, says Chief Secretary

Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra said on Thursday (September 10, 2026) that neither statehood nor a Union Territory (UT) with a legislature is being offered to Ladakh; instead, it will be a sui generis model, a unique body under the Constitution that will have legislative, executive, and financial powers.

Mr. Kundra, while responding to a question by The Hindu on whether the head of the elected body will be called a Chief Minister and whether the assurance was akin to restoring Statehood for Ladakh, said, “Ladakh was never a State. It was part of J&K, and later it became a UT. Aspiration of the people is to have legislative, executive, and financial powers. An agreement has been reached with the leadership here, a sui generis model, which does not exist anywhere in the country, will be crafted for Ladakh, where a legislative body will be created. It is not going to be Statehood for sure or a UT with legislature, but it is some other body which will have these powers, the nomenclature of it is yet to be finalised, that is why discussions are on.”

The Chief Secretary informed that at a meeting with the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) on September 9, the proposed structure of the UT-level body under Article 371 of the Constitution was discussed, and the members expressed their consensus on having a “direct election through constituencies” for the UT-level body. He said the members have been given a list of eight to nine questions to clear doubts and to examine the structural relationship and distribution of powers between the existing hill councils and the proposed UT-level body as per their requirements. The next round of discussions is expected in October.

Emphasising that constitutional safeguards require a detailed and established legal and parliamentary process, the Chief Secretary said any constitutional amendment needs broad political consensus, consultation, and parliamentary consideration. He stressed that the process would move forward through dialogue and consensus and that no framework would be imposed on Ladakh without due consultation with stakeholders.

LAB, KDA disappointed

The members of LAB and KDA said they were “disappointed” with the talks, stating that the UT administration under L-G Vinai Saxena and the Ministry were not on the same page.

Cherring Dorjay Lakruk of the LAB said that if the government officials wanted them to answer questions, they should have shared the agenda beforehand. “They are asking us what will be the name of the elected body, what will be the CM called? They should have sent the agenda in advance. We cannot answer these questions instantly, they involve legal questions,” Mr. Lakruk said.

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, part of the LAB delegation that met Ministry officials on September 9, said that “no concrete progress” has been made on their key demands and cautioned that protests would resume if assurances were not provided within a week.

At a press conference in Delhi, Mr. Wangchuk said that according to a decision reached with Ministry officials on May 22, the Home Ministry was supposed to submit a draft proposal and move forward on the “non-negotiable” demands made by them in the next meeting.

Ladakh Member of Parliament Mohmad Haneefa said that they have been “struggling for constitutional safeguards for Ladakh for the past six years”, adding that the “Home Minister and IB are sincere about finding a solution.”

“MHA is making lots of efforts to finalise a political solution, but it appears that the UT administration is trying to sabotage the efforts. They are taking key decisions on land, etc. unilaterally. MHA and UT administration should act on the same page. Till the time the draft is submitted by MHA, no major administrative or bureaucratic decisions should be taken by the L-G.”

Mr. Wangchuk added that the meeting was more than a “waste of time and money” and that the government should not compel them to protest.

“We spend our own money and come to Delhi, then we go back without a concrete outcome. Money and time is (sic) wasted. In 2020, when they needed us before the hill council elections there, the government sent a chartered aircraft for our leaders and asked (for) their help to not boycott the elections and help them win. They have made all efforts to drive wedges between the communities and regions and want to tire out the leaders, we are not giving up,” Mr.Wangchuk said.

After Ladakh lost its special status under Article 370 of the Constitution as part of the State of Jammu & Kashmir, it became a Union Territory without a Legislative Assembly in 2019. Since then, the LAB and the KDA, representing the Leh and Kargil regions respectively, have been demanding Statehood and tribal status for Ladakh, seeking a larger role for locals in decisions relating to land and infrastructure projects.

“MHA has never said that they will not give us Statehood. The proposed elected body is the first step till we have our avenues of revenue generation and this tailormade structure is only for Ladakh,” Mr.Wangchuk said.

Compensation demand

The members also sought compensation for the kin of the victims of the September 24, 2025, violence in Leh city, where four people were killed in police firing, and the withdrawal of criminal cases against 80 people, along the lines of the Gen Z protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi in July this year. The protest was called to demand constitutional safeguards for Ladakh.

Published – September 10, 2026 11:19 pm IST