Srinagar, Dec 24: Mehbooba Mufti, the chief of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), urged the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, to take action to address the reservation issue, stating that relying on the courts to resolve it is “very unfortunate.”
During a press conference in Srinagar, Mufti mentioned that the youth of J-K had cast their votes for the National Conference (NC) during the assembly elections, hoping for a rational approach to reservation that would protect everyone’s rights.
“We aim to keep politics out of it, yet we are pushing students on the open merit list into a corner. The chief minister has requested six months to address this. They (NC) possess three MPs, including one from Ladakh, and 50 MLAs—why the need for six months? They appear to be waiting for a court ruling to relieve them of any responsibility,” Mufti remarked.
The former chief minister of the former J-K state pointed out that the NC administration could have implemented an SRO to resolve the reservation issue, similar to how she enacted SRO-49 in 2018, which granted 75 percent reservation for the open merit category in postgraduate admissions.
“What will happen to these open merit category students if recruitment for lecturers, police, and other positions occurs within these six months? I urge Abdullah not to defer this matter to the courts. You possess the authority, you govern, and you have 50 MLAs to devise a solution that safeguards the economically weaker sections’ reserved seats while ensuring that open merit students receive their fair share based on population ratios, without having to wait for a court ruling,” she said.
She labeled the issue as serious, asserting that leaving it to the courts is “very unfortunate.”
“When we send children to school, we encourage them to work hard and achieve their ambitions through intelligence. Sadly, in today’s context, hard work and intelligence hold little value. Merit has become severely compromised,” she stated.
“Their opportunities have been severely restricted,” she added.
Commenting on a protest held by NC MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi outside the chief minister’s residence on Monday, Mufti emphasized that the populace voted for the NC in the parliamentary elections, expecting them to address their concerns or, at the very least, raise them in Parliament.
“It has been nearly a year, yet not a single MP from their party has addressed this issue. It was the responsibility of the NC MPs to bring this matter up in Parliament when J-K was under direct Central rule,” she concluded. (Agencies)
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