Ladakh has been waiting for an elected assembly since 2019. When it finally got a breakthrough meeting with the Centre, the breakthrough was quietly removed from the official record before anyone could sign it.
In May 2026, Ladakh's Leh Apex Body and Sonam Wangchuk held long-awaited talks with MHA officials on restoring democratic governance to India's only territory without an elected assembly. The meeting ended with what participants described as a breakthrough: an agreement that elected representatives would have primacy over bureaucrats. Then the Centre circulated the draft minutes — with the breakthrough missing. When the Leh Apex Body flagged the omission, the document was recalled, revised, and returned — still missing the same clause. Participants were not permitted to photograph the document. The Leh Apex Body refused to sign the minutes. The Chief Secretary's suggested resolution: tell him what was left out, and he would convey it to the government. India's largest democracy has governed Ladakh by executive fiat since 2019. It appears to draft its meeting notes by the same method.