Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah defended the government’s decision to send the Cabinet sub-committee (CSC) report on reservations in government jobs to the law department even as the opposition accused him of delaying tactics. After the report, a key poll promise of Abdullah, was tabled before the Cabinet, it was decided to send it to the law department.

“We constituted a cabinet sub-committee on the issue of reservations. It has been now sent to the law department. It is a part of the process. We can’t bypass the process… My government has completed a few months. Ask me about my promises and performance after 5 years,” Abdullah said as the opposition raised a hue and a cry.

At the heart of the row lies a new reservation policy that was introduced by the J&K Lieutenant Governor before the Assembly election last year. The administration had quietly amended the J&K Reservation Act, 2005, to increase the quota for the reserved category in the state to 67% from 43%.

This squeezed the reservation for the general category to 33%, prompting protests by students. To placate the students, Abdullah had announced a sub-committee to look into the issue and had said in December 2024 it would be resolved within six months.

OPPOSITION ACCUSES OMAR ABDULLAH OF DELAY

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Waheed Para said the delay in addressing the concerns of the protesting students was a “deliberate denial of justice”.

“Six months ago, the J&K government promised to resolve the reservation issue through a sub-committee report. That deadline has passed, leaving thousands of students heartbroken and disillusioned, their trust in the system shattered, and their futures put on hold,” Waheed Para tweeted.

A letter by Open Merit Students of Jammu and Kashmir to the Chief Minister said the development had left the students shattered and questioned the silence of the government on the implementation timeline. The students sought immediate review of reservations in J&K.

“If legal vetting was required, why was it not done earlier? Why wait until the last day?” the students asked.

CHIEF MINISTER RESPONDS

Hitting back at the PDP and its chief Mehbooba Mufti and People’s Conference leader Sajjad Lone, Abdullah accused them of double standards on the issue.

“When Mehbooba Mufti needed votes, she strictly banned her party members from even talking about reservation… When contesting elections from Anantnag and needing votes from Rajouri and Poonch, why did she not talk about reservation then?” ANI quoted the Chief Minister as saying.

“Sajjad Lone was close to the government for five years when all this was happening. We were evicted from our government houses, and our security was reduced, while he was sitting in a government house. Why did he not talk about the reservation then?” Abdullah further said.

The National Conference leader said if he indeed had to waste time, he would have given six more months to the sub-committee to submit the report.

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