Srinagar: Several political leaders led by Member Parliament and National Conference leader Ruhullah Mehdi and a large number of students on Monday staged a peaceful protest outside the residence of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah against the reservation policy, which was introduced earlier this year by the Lieutenant Governor- administration.
Later a group of protesting students met Omar Abdullah who gave them a number of assurances.
“Today I met the representatives of the Open Merit Students Association. The beauty of democracy is the right to be heard & dialogue in a spirit of mutual cooperation,” said the Chief Minister in a post on X.
Abdullah added that he has made certain requests of them & given them a number of assurances. “This channel of communication will remain open without any intermediaries or hangers on,” he said.
On December 10, Omar Abdullah government formed a three-member panel to review the reservation policy in jobs and admissions. The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh high court, is hearing a petition challenging the reservation policy which recently sought a response on the same from the government.
After meeting the CM, a student representative said the key takeaway of the 30 minute long meeting was that the Chief Minister has asked for six months for the sub-committee to complete its work.
Earlier, the protest over reservation issues brought political adversaries together like Ruhullah, Waheed Parra and Iltija Mufti of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Awami Itihad Party leader Sheikh Khursheed- brother of MP Engineer Rashid.
The protesting aspirants carried placards with slogans “justice for open merit candidates,” “ strive for merit, achieve greatness.”
“The government must ensure fairness and equality in its recruitment policies,” NC MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi said while addressing the protesting aspirants.
He urged the government to revise the reservation policy for an equitable approach.
Earlier, Kashmiri separatist leader and Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq had also wished to join the protest on reservation policy. However, within five minutes of his announcement, he was allegedly placed under house arrest at his residence.
“The issue of reservations should be addressed with justice and fairness by those in charge, safeguarding the interests of all segments of society, not at the expense of any one group. The current status of reservations does that, by undermining the interests of the General / open merit category. Fervent appeal to address their concerns immediately! Support #openmeritstudentsassociation,” Mirwaiz said in a post on X.
He said would raise the issue during his Friday sermon at historic Jamia mosque whenever permitted to go.
The Union Territory administration, led by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, implemented a 10% reservation for the Pahari community. This change increased the total reserved seats across various categories to 60%, leaving only 40% of seats available for general category candidates.
This triggered unrest among aspirants from Open Merit who have been calling for a review of the new policy.
UNI
