NEW DELHI, 02 July 2021, (TON): Political and civil society representatives from Ladakh’s Kargil district Thursday met MoS Home G Kishan Reddy and demanded full statehood for Ladakh and restoration of Article 370 and 35A.

A delegation of Kargil Democratic Alliance, a coalition of political, social and religious organisations in Kargil, had an over two-hour meeting with the junior minister at North Block. The minister is learnt to have assured the delegation that the ministry will study their demands and convey the same to the top political leadership.

The meeting comes days after political leaders of Jammu and Kashmir met PM Narendra Modi and demanded full statehood for the Union territory apart from discussing restoration of Article 370.

Politician and social activist Sajjad Hussain, a member of the delegation sais “we want full-fledged statehood for Ladakh. We spent two and a half hours with the honorable minister and have put forth our demand. We also want restoration of Article 370 and 35 A. We are residents of border areas and we want to become the strength of the nation. But August 5 decisions have created a trust deficit. We also spoke about safeguards for our culture, identity, language, land and jobs. Kargil and Skardu (in Gilgit Baltistan) route opening was also discussed. The minister assured us that our demands would be looked into.”