Environmental activist Sonam Wangchuk has threatened to go on a hunger strike again if the central government does not accept his demands. The central government should call the officials of Ladakh to discuss the demands of restoration of statehood and constitutional protection.
Otherwise, he said, he would go on a 28-day hunger strike from August 15. Wangchuk said that last week, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to Drass on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas, the Apex Body, Leh (ABL) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) from Ladakh submitted a memorandum to him and put forth their demands. "We did not want to put too much pressure on the government during the elections. We were of the view that the government should be given some time even after the elections.
We hope that the new government will take some concrete steps. Our leaders will be called for talks, failing which we will resume our protest. Wangchuk had gone on a 21-day hunger strike in March demanding the restoration of statehood to Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. At that time, they only drank water. However, the strike was called off after the government failed to respond.