Focus should be on previous commitments: Lakruk

LEH: Ahead of Wednesday’s meeting, LAB chairman Chering Dorjey Lakruk said the delegation was going to Delhi with the expectation that the discussions would build on the decisions recorded during the May meeting and move them towards conclusion. He argued that the earlier minutes should form the basis of the fresh dialogue rather than reopening settled issues.

Lakruk also questioned the proposed participation of leaders outside the LAB-KDA structure, particularly former MP Thupstan Chhewang and former Leh CEC Tashi Gyalson, asking in what capacity they were being included. At the same time, he acknowledged that the final decision on the composition of the meeting rested with the Centre.

On the substantive political question, Lakruk reiterated that the proposed councils must possess real powers rather than merely carry an institutional title. He said the LAB would welcome councils in every district if they were given meaningful authority and were not subordinate to the bureaucracy, contrasting this with the existing hill-council arrangement.

His remarks also underlined the political stakes surrounding the proposed elected structure: the LAB wants an arrangement with legislative and executive authority, rather than a council that merely provides elected representation without effective control over administration.

On the September 24 cases and victims’ issues, Lakruk maintained that the welfare of those killed and injured has consistently been raised by the LAB in its discussions with the Home Ministry.