Srinagar, Nov. 21, 2024 — Ruhullah Mehdi, a Member of Parliament and prominent figure in Jammu and Kashmir’s National Conference (NC), has vowed to continue the fight for the rationalization of the reservation policy, announcing plans to join a sit-in protest outside the Chief Minister’s residence if the issue remains unresolved.
Widely recognized for his role in strengthening the NC and helping it secure victory in recent elections, Mehdi responded to a tweet criticizing the reservation policy for offering "only 26 percent of jobs for 70 percent of the open merit (OM) population."
In his tweet, Mehdi reaffirmed his stance, stating, “I have neither forgotten nor backtracked on the issue of rationalization of reservation,” and added that he had raised the matter directly with the Chief Minister twice and discussed it thoroughly with government colleagues.
Attributing the delay in resolving the issue to “confusion about the distribution of the rules of business” between the elected government and what he referred to as the “undemocratically imposed office,” Mehdi called for urgent action on the matter.
“The government has promised a resolution soon, but if no decision is made by the end of the parliamentary session from November 25 to December 22, I will sit with all of you outside the residence or office of the Chief Minister,” Mehdi declared.
The controversy has also sparked strong criticism from other political factions, with People’s Democratic Party (PDP) MP Waheed Parra calling out the NC-led government’s handling of the reservation issue.
Citing a specific example, Parra tweeted, “Out of 575 lecturer posts referred to JKPSC for recruitment, only 238 are for open merit students, while 337 are reserved. This injustice needs to stop!”
He further questioned why the NC-led government continued with a reservation policy introduced during the BJP regime.