National Conference raises concern over ‘skewed reservation policy’ in J&K
General category candidates, if we keep increasing reservation, will be pushed to the status of the Scheduled Castes as was in 1947, says Farooq Abdullah
Senior National Conference leaders have expressed concerns over the current reservation policy in Jammu and Kashmir, which they believe is skewed. Party president Farooq Abdullah stated that if the reservation percentage continues to rise, general category candidates could be reduced to the status of Scheduled Castes. He argued that an effort must be made to address this injustice and ensure open merit in admissions to professional colleges.
Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather also raised concerns about the regional imbalance in the distribution of Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) certificates. He demanded that the government investigate the matter. Peoples Democratic Party legislator Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra highlighted the exclusion of the Kashmiri-speaking population from governance and the harsh new police verification policy.
He claimed that Kashmiri youth were being denied job opportunities, with many facing charges and others qualifying but being denied the right to join due to their relatives being separatists. The distribution of EWS certificates between Kashmir and Jammu divisions was also criticized as skewed. The J&K government reported that 2,486 EWS certificates were issued in Kashmir division compared to 24,058 in Jammu division over the past two years.
A Jammu-based body has announced protests if the reservation policy is not implemented as per UGC norms.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
