Ruhullah warns of protest over reservation issue in J&K

Differences within the ruling National Conference (NC) came to the fore again on Friday as Member of Parliament Aga Syed Ruhullah and senior party leader and Minister Sakina Itoo took divergent positions on the reservation issue in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr. Ruhullah warned of a street protest in the coming days, saying he would stand with open merit aspirants if their concerns were not addressed. In a post on social media platform X, the MP said he would sit in protest at the same location where he had demonstrated last year, outside the Chief Minister’s office, to press for action.

“I have neither forgotten nor left the students alone. I urge the government once again to talk to the students and apprise them of the measures and decisions taken to resolve this issue. If that does not happen till Saturday, I will not leave our youth and students helpless,” Mr. Ruhullah said.

Reacting to his remarks, J&K Minister Sakina Itoo said, “Some people are misleading the youth and students on the reservation issue and unnecessarily calling shots on the government.”

Ms. Itoo added that the government had already completed its role in the matter and that the Council of Ministers had approved changes related to reservation and forwarded them to the Lieutenant Governor for approval. “If these few people need to protest, they should protest before the L-G’s office rather than indulge in unnecessary criticism of the government. Ironically, they feel it is inconvenient to protest before the L-G’s office,” she said.

After assuming office in October 2024, the Chief Minister constituted a three-member Cabinet subcommittee to rationalise the open category quota to 50%. The proposal has since been forwarded to the Lieutenant Governor.

In March last year, the Lieutenant Governor approved an additional 10% reservation for newly included tribes, including Paharis, under the Scheduled Tribes category, and added 15 communities to the Other Backward Classes list. This led to a reduction in the share of open merit seats and triggered widespread protests by general category aspirants.

At present, 20% of seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes, 8% for Scheduled Castes, 10% for Reserved Backward Areas, 8% for Other Backward Classes, 4% under the Local Area Candidates and Integrated Border category, 10% for Economically Weaker Sections, and 10% under the Children of Defence Personnel, sports and persons with disabilities categories.