Sonam Wangchuk breaks fast; home ministry to resume talks with Ladakh groups on December 3
New Delhi, Oct 21: Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk on Monday ended his fast along with others, after the home ministry assured them that the talks on Ladakh's demands will be resumed in December.
Join Secretary, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Prashant Lokhande met the activists, who were sitting on an indefinite fast at Delhi's Ladakh Bhawan since October 6, and handed them a letter from the home ministry.
The letter said the high-powered committee of the ministry, which was holding talks with representatives from Ladakh, will meet them next on December 3.
Following this, Wangchuk and his supporters decided to break their fast and called off the sit-in.
"On the 16th day of our fast, I am happy to say that our main appeal has been resolved. Just now, the joint secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, came here at the Ladakh Bhawan and handed me this letter, which says the talks going on between the apex body of Leh and the KDA in Kargil with the central government will be resumed very soon, by December," Wangchuk said.
He hoped that the outcome of the talks between the ministry and the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance, the two socio-political organisations from the two regions of Ladakh, will be positive.
"The talks will be carried out by these bodies and I hope that very good outcomes will come, not just for Ladakh but for the whole nation.
"I just hope that I do not ever again have to do another anshan (fast) for this reason and it will result in a very happy ending. I want to, on this occasion, thank everybody who supported us in this effort," Wangchuk said.
Chering Dorjay Lakruk, the president of the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA), thanked Wangchuk and others who took out a march for resumption of the talks that were stalled.
"The talks will be resumed now. We have not achieved anything yet. We hope that the talks on our four-point demands will be meaningful," he said.
Ladakh MP Mohmad Haneefa also hoped that the talks will have a meaningful outcome.
"We had to go back to protest because the talks were not resumed even after (the Lok Sabha) election. We are happy that the talks are being resumed and hope that they will continue till a solution is found.
"We hope that the government will take these talks seriously and our issues will be resolved," Haneefa said.
Wangchuk, along with his supporters, marched to Delhi from Leh demanding Ladakh's inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. They reached the national capital on September 30 after walking for a month.
They were detained at the capital's Singhu border by the Delhi Police and released on the night of October 2.
Wangchuk sat on the fast on October 6 to press for the demand for Ladakh's inclusion in the Sixth Schedule and meet the top leadership of the government to raise the issue.
The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution includes provisions for the administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram in the northeast. It establishes autonomous councils that have legislative, judicial, executive and financial powers to independently govern these areas.
The protesters are also demanding statehood, a public service commission for Ladakh and separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts.
The march to Delhi was organised by the Leh Apex Body, which along with the Kargil Democratic Alliance, has been spearheading the agitation.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
