Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti urged Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to resolve the reservation issue instead of leaving it to the courts, calling that approach “very unfortunate.”
Mufti told reporters that people in J-K, especially the youth, voted for the National Conference (NC) in large numbers during the assembly elections because they wanted fair reservation policies without losing anyone’s rights.
She emphasized that there should be no politics involved and criticized the delay. “The chief minister asked for six months. They have three MPs and 50 MLAs; why do they need so much time? It seems like they are waiting for a court decision so they don’t have to act,” Mufti said.
Mufti, who was the former chief minister, mentioned that the NC government could have issued an SRO to address the reservation issue, similar to what she did in 2018 with SRO-49, which provided 75% reservation for open merit in post-graduation.
She questioned what open merit students would gain if lecturer and police recruitments happened within those six months. She appealed to Abdullah not to leave the matter to the courts, as he has the power and support to find a solution that doesn’t harm economically weaker sections but ensures open merit students get their fair share based on population.
Mufti stressed that it’s a serious issue and relying on the courts is “very unfortunate.” She noted that hard work and intelligence seem undervalued now, with merit being overlooked.
She also referred to a protest by NC’s Srinagar MP, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, outside the chief minister’s residence, pointing out that people voted for NC in Parliament elections hoping they would address such issues. However, she noted that none of their MPs have spoken up about this matter, even though it was their duty to raise it in Parliament when J-K was under direct Central rule.
