Srinagar: The Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), the two principal bodies representing Ladakh in the ongoing negotiations with the Union government have rejected the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)’s 32-page draft proposal for the region. The two groups said that the the proposal doesn’t guarantee the assurances made during earlier talks between the Union government and Ladakh representatives. They say the draft prepared by the committee representing the Union government lacks a full-fledged Union Territory legislature and adequate constitutional safeguards under Article 371(K). It envisages a directly elected Union Territory-level body with legislative, executive, financial and planning powers.In a joint statement, the two bodies called the proposal an “archaic administrative model” resembling the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA). They said it marked a U-turn from the understanding reached with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on May 22.The two groups met Union government representatives in Leh on Thursday (October 15) and analysed the draft at a sub-committee meeting before rejecting it in principle.“The LAB and KDA have thoroughly examined the draft proposal presented by the MHA during the sub-committee meeting held on October 15, 2026. Both bodies categorically reject the draft proposal in principle, as it represents a significant departure from the assurances and commitments made during previous meetings of the sub-committee,” the representative bodies said in a joint statement.The agreement was recorded in the minutes of the meeting. The document was signed on July 3. At a subsequent meeting on September 9, the MHA proposed Article 371(K) as a special constitutional provision for Ladakh. It was intended to give the elected body legislative powers over land, culture, forests and the environment. However, the representatives assert that the fresh draft has deadlocked the talks. “The latest draft has failed to meet those expectations,” Sajad Kargili, co-chairman of KDA told The Wire.Kargili said the proposal suggested substantial powers in the Lieutenant Governor’s administration. It did not provide the legislative, executive and administrative authority sought by the groups. The body must have legislative, executive and administrative powers, along with strong safeguards under Article 371(K), he added.The Union government had indicated in July that it was considering a customised constitutional framework for Ladakh after the groups demanded Sixth Schedule for the region with constitutional rights.The model was described as “sui generis” and intended to give the Union Territory a stronger democratic institutional structure.The agreement was formalised in the Minutes of Meeting (MoM) and signed on July 3. In the subsequent September 9 meeting in New Delhi, the MHA had proposed Article 371K to the Himalayan region, a new insertion tailored for the Union Territory that would have allowed the elected body with legislative powers over land, culture, forests, and environment.The latest proposal, however, fell short of the minimum guarantee of an elected legislature, the bodies said. They argued that a North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA)-styled administrative arrangement would not meet Ladakh’s political and constitutional aspirations. “Instead, it proposes a NEFA-type arrangement that falls far short of the proposed Union Territory with a legislature, which was the minimum guarantee from which a sui generis model could be developed as agreed upon in the May 22 meeting and recorded in the MoM, which were signed and agreed on July 3rd pursuant to the meeting,” they said.The LAB and KDA have urged the MHA to reconsider the draft and accept the memorandum of understanding submitted by them. They said it reflects demands they have consistently raised in the last six years.“The draft MoU reflects the genuine aspirations of the people of Ladakh and the demands that LAB and KDA have consistently advocated since 2021,” they said.The Ladakh representatives will submit a detailed response to the ministry on October 18 or 19, outlining their objections and reiterating their position, Kargili told The Wire.Ladakh’s political groups have been negotiating with the Union government since 2023. The talks followed the August 2019 abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state into two Union Territories.In a press conference, Ladakh chief secretary Ashish Kundra termed the Union Territory leaders’ rejection of the Union government’s draft proposal unfortunate, saying it had already been discussed that Ladakh would neither become a state nor a Union Territory with a legislature. He said, “It’s a Bill to amend the constitution, not a school essay,” adding that the negotiations need mutual trust and patience.Kundra said that the Union government is trying to find a political solution to meet the demands of the people. “My request to the representatives through you, which I have also communicated personally to some of them, is that negotiations need two or three foundational things. The first is mutual trust, and the most important thing is patience,” he added.The groups demand statehood and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the constitution for Ladakh. The proposed constitutional framework emerged as part of negotiations over an alternative arrangement.Kundra suggested that the protection will be clearly mentioned in Article 371(K) adding that regulations would be made under Article 420.The bodies, however, said, “The people of Ladakh deserve a meaningful constitutional framework that honours prior commitments and safeguards their political, cultural and democratic aspirations.” They warned against any arrangement that compromises those protections.‘When the government of our own country treats us like this, what should we say?’Environmental activist Sonam Wangchuk on Friday (October 16) slammed the Union government in a video statement on X saying the people of Ladakh were saddened, surprised and angry.“Yesterday, we were shocked. We thought we would have some minor differences. But we saw the differences were huge. They (Centre) reneged again,” Wangchuk said. “They said the assembly would be small and the chief secretary would not be under it. They even went back on the promises made about Article 371”.“In May (this year), there was a major dialogue between the leaders of Ladakh and the Home Ministry and promises were made that we will give you democracy by giving a special assembly, under which the entire bureaucracy will come, even the Chief Secretary. It was also said that instead of the Sixth Schedule, the safeguards would be given under Article 371. So for us, yesterday’s meeting was very important after that conversation in May,” he added.Further, Wangchuk questioned where the ideal Ram Rajya had gone.“The people of Ladakh are very sad, angry and surprised. What kind of Ram Rajya are we talking about, where is the ideal of ‘let a life be lost but not a promise’. We will fight against the enemy countries, we have fought in every war, but when the government of our own country treats us like this, what should we say? Where should we go?” he asked.Wangchuk has been jailed last September for six months under the draconian National Security Act (NSA) after he lead an agitation over the issue. The MHA revoked his detention order in March, three days before the Supreme Court was scheduled to resume hearing the habeas corpus petition filed by his wife, Gitanjali J. Angmo.“I have always said, and I will say again, that China has no right to comment on Ladakh. In fact, we will say that we do not give them credibility. Our neighbouring country is Tibet, not China. Tell me, when are they vacating Tibet and handing it over to our Tibetan brothers and sisters? On this point, all the leaders of Ladakh’s Leh Apex Body (LAB) held a special press conference and said that they condemn China for this statement. And the people of Ladakh will always be happy in India and will continue to be. It is not surprising, we have always said,” Wangchuk said.“Exactly three hours later, with the officials of our own country’s Home Ministry, there was a conversation of the leaders of Ladakh, the talks that are going on in Ladakh. China was an enemy country, but what did our own country do in that meeting?” he added.