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Parties welcome more autonomy for Ladakh

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI DEC. 29. Across the political spectrum, parties have welcomed the Jammu and Kashmir Government's announcement that the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council would enjoy greater financial and administrative autonomy within six months.

The Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist Party of India said the announcement was a move in the right direction.

"We have always supported greater regional autonomy for Jammu and Ladakh,'' the BJP spokesman, V.K. Malhotra, said. He said the party had always maintained that there had been unequal development in the three regions of the State and that this had led to resentment among the people of Jammu and Ladakh.

The Congress, which is part of the PDP-led coalition Government in the State, had also promised equal development of the three regions in its election campaign. The party spokesperson, Anand Sharma, said that while it was yet to be seen what the details of the new arrangement would be, it was a step towards meeting the aspirations of the people of Ladakh.

The CPI national secretary, D. Raja, emphasised that the immediate need was for greater autonomy for the whole of Jammu and Kashmir. He hoped that the talks between the Centre and the new elected representatives would take off as early as possible. "And within the State of Jammu and Kashmir, regional autonomy was certainly desirable to ensure equal development of all the regions''.

He said "the CPI was totally opposed to the RSS demand for the trifurcation of the State into Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh, but regional autonomy was welcome".

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