New Delhi: The Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), one of two bodies negotiating with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) over Ladakh’s statehood, on Saturday (October 25) rejected the home ministry’s draft governance proposal terming it an “empty draft”, and accusing the Union government of turning the Union territory into “a testing lab”, intended at ‘murdering’ the democracy of Ladakh, The Indian Express reported.Last week, a subcommittee comprising members of the KDA and Leh Apex Body (LAB) met MHA officials to discuss the demands of the protesting Ladakh groups. However, talks stalled as both sides blamed each other for the lack of progress.Addressing a press conference on Saturday, KDA co-chairman Sajjad Kargili said: “We were hoping that the MHA would form its draft based on the minutes of the meeting that we had signed. We were promised a sui generis model that would be more empowered than the J&K assembly.”He said that the MHA’s draft did not represent the aspirations of Ladakh’s people, instead, it represented “the concerns of the UT administration more than the people”. The KDA and LAB have sent their comments on the draft to the government.Kargili went on to say, “We have seen the allegations of ‘vote chori’ in other parts of the country. Ladakh has been turned into a testing lab, and they have stolen representation from here. The decisions being taken unilaterally are a clear display of murder of democracy in Ladakh.”The KDA has also called the Ladakh administration’s recent announcements and decisions an “attack on the rights of the people of this region”.The last talks happened on October 15 in Leh. During the meeting, Kargili said, the government’s draft proposed a “North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) type model”, instead of what was agreed upon in the previous round of negotiations on July 7.Since the meeting, the Ladakh administration has announced panchayat polls, imposed the Model Code of Conduct, announced hill councils for each of the newly created districts and dissolved the Kargil hill council – decisions that drew criticism from the representatives.The next round of meeting, to discuss the conflicting issues, was to be held on October 22 but was not.The Wire previously reported that in an impromptu press briefing, Ladakhi climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who too has been at the helm along with the KDA and LAB, accused the Union government of going back on its promises reached, and that it crushed the hopes of the people in the region.The activist had also raised concerns about the protection of Ladakh’s land, resources and identity, stating that around 90% of its population belonged to tribal communities. He said the locals risked being marginalised in decisions involving corporate interests, and questioned the policies that were being pursued “without public consent”.