CM Omar Abdullah clarifies, says CSC report on reservation given six-month deadline

Srinagar, Mar 15: Amid criticism over the lack of a timeline for the Cabinet Sub-Committee's report on the Reservation Policy, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday clarified that the committee has been given a six-month deadline to complete its work.

In a post on X, CM Omar wrote, "The Cabinet sub-committee constituted to examine the complicated issue of reservations in recruitment has been given a six-month timeline to complete their report. This timeline was set by me after I met with a concerned group of job aspirants."

“This timeline, however, was not in the initial order setting up the sub-committee. That oversight will be corrected but rest-assured the committee is working to complete its task in the set timeframe," he added.

The clarification comes after MP Aga Syed Ruhullah and MLA Sajad Gani Lone questioned the lack of a fixed timeline for the committee's report. Ruhullah had termed the absence of a deadline a betrayal of students' trust, while Lone raised the issue in the Legislative Assembly, seeking clarity on the committee’s progress.

MP Ruhullah said on X: “I hope this line saying “no specific timeline has been been fixed for submitting the report” in the reply is some clerical error or some miscommunication between the department and the Chief Minister’s office. @CM_JnK should clarify this”.

He continued, “If it is not, it then is a blatant lie and betrayal with the students who raised the issue with their elected government and showed faith and trust in the word and response given to them. There can’t be a political catastrophe bigger than this when an elected government deceives its people”.

“I didn’t speak on this matter after the students got the assurance from the CM last time because I was expecting the government to do its job in the given time as they had assured. But this response has shocked me. I will not sit quiet on this. I will pick the matter from where I left it after the assurance given to the students,” he said.

“I hope the government gives some clarity on this matter and assures us that this reply is a result of some mistake not a deliberate blatant lie,” he added on X.

Earlier, in response to Lone’s query, the Social Welfare Minister informed the House that the Cabinet Sub-Committee was constituted under Government Order No. 2061-JK(GAD) of 2024 to review grievances related to reservation rules. However, the reply did not specify a timeframe, leading to concerns among aspirants.

Peoples Conference chief and Member Legislative Assembly from Handwara, Sajad Gani Lone also shared data showing regional imbalances in the issuance of reservation certificates, stating that Jammu has received over 90% of these certificates across various categories, while Kashmir has been left behind. He claimed the reservation system is rigged against the Kashmiri-speaking population, particularly in the Scheduled Tribe and Economically Weaker Sections categories.