New Delhi: Kashmiri students held a protest led by National Conference leader Aga Ruhullah Mehdi Monday outside the residence of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, demanding a revamp of the reservation policy in Jammu & Kashmir.
Srinagar MP Ruhullah, leading the protest against his party’s government led by National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah, has raised eyebrows in political circles. Srinagar is witnessing unprecedented scenes as political rivals unite for a common cause, demanding a fair and transparent reservation policy in the union territory.
“The aspirations of people must be given importance. We hope that the government will listen to us and address our aspirations…. We formed the government. We need the government to work for the people. I do not want chaos…I do not want to divide our party,” Ruhullah said.
The Lt. Governor-led administration introduced the new reservation policy earlier this year, amending the J&K reservation rules. Currently, the new policy is under challenge before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. A judicial review by the high court is underway, apart from a subcommittee constituted by the state government looking into the matter to resolve it.
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Apart from Ruhullah, a number of other J&K leaders, including People’s Democratic Party’s Pulwama MLA Waheed Para and Iltija Mufti and Awami Ittehad Party’s Mangate MLA Sheikh Khursheed, also participated in the protests.
Speaking to reporters outside the CM’s residence, Ruhullah said a delegation of five students will meet and discuss the reservation policy issue with the chief minister. “Unless and until they are satisfied, I will stay on the road,” he added.
Later on, speaking to reporters, Ruhullah demanded quotas be rationalised according to the proportion of a group in a population. Addressing the protesters, the NC MP said there should be no discrimination under the reservation policy, which the government should ensure, according to proportion in population or Supreme Court rulings.
“We are not against reservation for any sections of society — which need handholding. We want justice for everyone and not just for a particular section. Irrational reservation has become a sword against open merit students and aspirants,” he told the gathering. “We want an end to the prevalent Viceroy system and diktats.”
While the protest was underway, J&K CM Omar Abdullah posted Rudyard Kipling’s words on social media platform X.
Words by Rudyard Kipling –
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or…— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) December 23, 2024
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Policy under review
The petition challenging the reservation policy in the Punjab and Haryana High Court reads that the government has decreased the percentage of reservation in Jammu and Kashmir government recruitment posts for open merit candidates from 57% to 33% and for those categorised as ‘resident of backward area (RBA)’ from 20% to 10%. Instead, the reservation for the scheduled tribes (ST) is up from 10% to 20%, the social backward castes from 2% to 8%, and those living in areas near the Line of Actual Control (ALC) and the physically challenged (PHC) from 3% to 4%. According to the petition, the government also “added new categories: Children of Defence personnel 03%, Children of police personnel 1%, candidates possessing performance in sports 02%, which is ultra vires to the constitution”.
For protesting this reservation policy, Ruhulla is receiving praise from other party’s leaders, such as Waheed Parra.
“Wholeheartedly welcome Aga Syed Ruhullah’s decision to stand with the youth in demanding rationality and fairness in reservation policies. This is a pivotal moment to address pressing grievances and ensure our policies are inclusive, youth-friendly, and just,” the PDP MLA posted on X.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the influential cleric and leader of the Hurriyat Conference, also backed the demand for a fair reservation policy.
The J&K government, earlier in November this year, formed a sub-committee to review the reservations in the Union Territory (UT), considering the growing demand from open category aspirants to look into the 70% quota for reserved categories in the current policy.
Speaking to ThePrint, Waheed Para said the chief minister has assured that the sub-committee will hand over its report within six months, after which there will be a resolution on the issue.
“Today is a big day for Kashmir as the youth has come together demanding fairness in reservations. From militancy, the youth now is holding talks on reservations based on fairness and transparency. Various leaders from different political parties have come together for a just cause,” said Para.
During the J&K assembly session last month, NC’s Hazratbal MLA Salman Sagar raised the issue of the new reservation policy, pointing out that youth in the general category were facing injustice, and NC’s Ramban MLA Arjun Singh Raju demanded a revision of the reservation policy.
Even as many praised Ruhullah’s efforts, the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party president, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, termed the protest a “political gimmick” by Ruhullah.
“It shows a complete disregard for people’s common sense when an MP, instead of directly talking to his party president to advocate for public demands, opts to write an open letter to him and stage protests against his own party leadership,” Bukhari wrote on X. “People are intelligent enough to distinguish between genuine efforts and theatrical actions.”
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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