The Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), one of two bodies negotiating with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) over Ladakh’s future, on Saturday termed the Centre’s draft governance proposal for the Union Territory an “empty draft” and rejected it, accusing the Centre of “murdering democracy” in Ladakh.This comes a week after a subcommittee comprising members of the KDA and Apex Body Leh (ABL) met MHA officials to discuss greater democratic representation for the region. Talks have since stalled, with both sides blaming each other for the lack of progress.Addressing a press conference on Saturday, KDA co-chairman Sajjad Kargili reiterated the allegations, saying: “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”.The draft presented after the meeting, he said, did not represent the aspirations of Ladakh’s people, “but in turn, it represents the concerns of the UT administration more than the people”. Both the KDA and ABL have sent their comments on the draft to the MHA.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. The decisions have drawn criticism from the representatives.“It seems like the UT administration is consumed with pushing notifications,” Kargili said. “They’ve announced 100 constituencies for Ladakh through new LAHDCs, but whether it is 100 or 200, it doesn’t make a difference if they do not have appropriate powers.”Rejecting the Centre’s draft, the KDA leadership called it an “attack on the rights of the people of this region”.Story continues below this ad“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,” Kargili said.KDA co-chairman Asgar Ali Karbalai said the KDA and ABL had been negotiating with the MHA for six years on their four-point agenda. Statehood and constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule have been the key demands in their agenda document since 2023, he said.He said the two issues had been discussed extensively, including at a key meeting on May 22 this year. “In the meeting held on May 22, in principle agreement was reached on important concerns raised by us,” he said.On July 7, the MHA sent the minutes of that meeting, which were signed by KDA and ABL members, including Ladakh MP Mohammad Hanifa Jan.Story continues below this ad“This agreement includes two main points, including the fact that the ultimate aspiration of the people of Ladakh is statehood. In the agreement reached, we were promised a unique governance body with legislative, executive and financial powers. It also promised special constitutional safeguards for Ladakh. This is part of a signed document,” Karbalai said.However, when the group met again on October 15, the draft presented to the subcommittee proposed a “North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) type model”, contrary to the discussions and the document signed by the members on July 7, he said.The KDA said the draft did not address constitutional safeguards or legislative powers, placing everything under Article 240. “Under this, all powers exist with the LG by the President of India,” Karbalai said. He added that the KDA and ABL had rejected a power structure that left authority with an empowered bureaucracy while providing no constitutional protections for the governance body.Ladakh MP Mohammad Hanifa, who was also present at Saturday’s KDA meeting, said it had taken nearly six years for Ladakh and the Centre to reach a consensus, raising hopes among the region’s people. The MHA’s current position, he said, “is against the spirit of the agreements reached earlier.”