Amid outrage, Omar govt forms Cabinet Sub-Committee to review reservation policy

Oppn, student groups up in arms against 60% reservation in govt jobs, seek policy overhaul

Just 238 posts of lecturers out of 575; 267 SIs posts of total 669 kept for Open Merit candidates
Jammu: Amidst an ongoing heated debate over the current reservation policy, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today announced the formation of a Cabinet sub-committee, comprising three ministers, to take a “holistic view” of reservations in government jobs to ensure justice for all while safeguarding individual rights.
“The Cabinet has decided to set up a sub-committee of three ministers, who will examine the reservation policy. They will review past developments in this regard, assess recent Supreme Court rulings, and determine whether we have moved forward or if the situation remains unchanged,” Omar said while responding to queries about the reservation controversy.
Chief Minister said the committee would ensure that justice is delivered to everyone without infringing upon anyone’s rights. “The committee has been allotted time to complete its review and will submit a report to the Cabinet, following which a decision will be taken,” he said.
Earlier, he said that a lot was being said about reservation. “Youth are facing difficulties while complaints are also being made. Our young people, particularly those from the open category, feel their rights are being overlooked. At the same time, there are also those who have been brought into the reservation ambit who do not want any reduction in their rights,” he said.
The current reservation policy has come under sharp criticism after the National Conference government referred 575 posts of lecturers in the School Education department for recruitment to the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC). Out of these, only 238 have been kept for general category, while the remaining 337 seats have been reserved for different categories.
Similarly, Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB), on Friday, issued a notification for filling up a total of 669 posts of Sub-Inspectors in J&K Police, comprising just 267 posts in Open Merit while remaining 402 posts reserved for different categories.
The issue sparked outrage among students and opposition leaders who have demanded a policy overhaul.
Earlier this year, the Union Territory administration, led by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, had granted a 10 percent reservation to the Pahari community, raising the total reserved seats in government jobs to 60 percent, leaving only 40 percent for general category candidates. According to the 2011 census, around 69 per cent of J&K’s population belongs to the general category.
The National Conference (NC), ahead of the Assembly elections, promised in its manifesto to review the reservation policy to address perceived imbalances
The senior PDP leader and MLA Pulwama Waheed Para has called the development “shocking”, saying “he fails to understand why the NC-led govt is continuing with BJP introduced reservation policy?”
“Another day, another shocker! Out of 575 lecturer posts referred to JKPSC for recruitment, only 238 are for open merit students, while 337 are reserved,” he recently wrote on X, adding that “this injustice needs to stop!” “Requesting Omar Abdullah to revamp the reservation policy strictly as per population numbers,” Para said.
Recently, NC’s Lok Sabha member from Srinagar, Syed Ruhullah Mehdi said he had talked to the Chief Minister about it and has been assured that the government will decide to rationalise the reservation policy soon. "…I would request all of you to wait till I attend the Parliament session which starts from 25th Nov and concludes on 22nd Dec. If the decision is not taken till then, I will sit with all of you outside the residence or the office of the Chief Minister," he recently wrote on X.

Updated On 11/23/2024 1:59:08 AM