Ajoy Edwards in Leh to join hands with Sonam Wangchuk for separate state

YAWAN GURUNG, EOI, MIRIK / LEH, MARCH 20, 2024 : Hamro Party President Ajoy Edwards has reached Leh to express support for the demand for the formation of a separate state in Ladakh and the grant of sixth schedule status to the Union Territory. On Tuesday, Edwards was present in the venue of the dharna of Sonam Wangchku at Topden Park in Leh. 

The hunger strike by climate activist Sonam Wangchuk in Leh to “remind” the BJP-led Centre of its promise to safeguard the fragile ecology of the UT and protect the unique tribal culture of its people reached its 15th day on Wednesday. 

Edwards said the Ladakhis and the Gorkhas had the same demand and lived under similar conditions, so the Hamro party was supporting the demand of the Ladakhis. There was a discussion between Sonam Wangchuk and Ajoy Edwards about political parties and organizations that were raising the demands for separate states in the border area of the country under a single platform.

\Meanwhile, Kargil observed a strike on Wednesday amid a massive rally to demand statehood and the inclusion of Ladakh in the sixth schedule status.Shops and business establishments were closed as thousands of people marched in support of the two demands.

The Kargil Democratic Alliance had called the half-day strike in support of the hunger strike staged by Sonam Wangchuk. Banners like “Ladakh demands statehood and Sixth Schedule” and “Save Ladakh Save Democracy” were carried in the rally. (With a PTI report from Kargil)