Kargil council plunges into crisis

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 26

The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Kargil, again plunged into a crisis today as three Congress councillors withdrew support to Chief Executive Councillor (CEC) Kacho Ahmad Ali Khan.

Khan was elected as the CEC and chairman of the council on September 16. He had wrested control over the council by defeating National Conference-led council headed by Haji Hanifa Mohammad Jan.

The development followed the appointment of three independent councillors as Executive Councillors of the council on Sunday, a decision strongly opposed by Congress councillors.

Almost an hour before the start of annual General Council meeting in Kargil, three Congress councillors, Zakir Hussain from Shakar, Liyaqat Ali from Poyen and Skalzang Wangyal from Padum, went to the office of Deputy Commissioner Hassan Khan, also the Chief Executive Officer.

They handed over a letter announcing the decision of withdrawing their support to the incumbent body. The LAHDC, Kargil, has 26 elected and four nominated councillors. The CEC enjoys the powers of Cabinet minister while Executive Councillors have the powers of Deputy minister.

Sources said the Kargil district unit of the Congress had split into two on the issue of extending support to Khan. One group had strongly opposed the idea of continuing support to the PDP leader while the other supported him.

On September 16, Khan, associated with the PDP, was elected as CEC as 10 Congress and some independent councillors supported him.

He secured 16 votes in the 30-member council while NC-supported 14 councillors boycotted the election. With the withdrawal of support of three Congress councillors, the existing council was reduced to a minority.

“The incumbent dispensation is running the council like a dictatorship, which is not acceptable to us. Three of the four posts of Executive Councillor were given to Independents. A deliberate attempt has been made to decimate the Congress. The present dispensation is ruling the council for personal benefit. Our leaders should not forget that we are answerable to the people,” said Skalzang Wangyal over phone from Kargil.

He described the PDP-Congress alliance in Kargil as unholy and said they withdrew their support in the larger interests of the people of Kargil.

Hussain said, “We did not intend to withdraw support, but the existing council had tried to decimate the Congress in Kargil district. We were not taken into confidence in the distribution of posts of Executive Councillor. It was not a Congress-led council as we had no existence therein. We lodged our protest by withdrawing support.”

In reply to a query, he admitted that the Congress was a fractured party in Kargil as only a leader or two had been calling the shots.

Former CEC Haji Hanifa Mohammad Jan had the support of 16 councillors, but his council was reduced to a minority when Kacho Ahmed Ali Khan withdrew support to the LAHDC, Kargil, on June 20.