Srinagar, Sep 16 — Opposition MLA, Sajad Gani Lone, on Wednesday lashed out at the National Conference (NC) government in Jammu and Kashmir over the latest appointments to JKAS and J&K accounts (Gazetted) services.
Ahead of the upcoming session of the Legislative Assembly, Peoples Conference (PC) president and MLA from Handwara constituency, Sajad Lone, criticised the Omar Abdullah government over the latest JKAS and J&K Accounts (Gazetted) appointments, terming the process as “recruitment apartheid” against the Kashmir Valley.
In a post on X, Sajad Lone said that out of 55 JKAS and J&K Accounts (Gazetted) officers selected, only 10 are from the Kashmir Valley.
“So, against a population ratio of 56 per cent, inhabitants of Kashmir have got 18 per cent of the jobs”, he said. He added that the Chief Minister should have kept himself away from distributing appointment orders.
“Incidentally, appointment orders were given by CM sahib. Ideally, he should have kept away. It is persecution of the inhabitants of the Kashmir Valley - a strategy to disempower and marginalise them,” he said.
He further argued that the cabinet recommendation on the reservation would not make much difference.
“This Kashmir region’s 56 per cent vs 18 per cent recruitment figure will not be changed if the so‑called file sent by the elected government to the Union government is approved. At best, it will increase to 19 per cent, against the 56 per cent population,” Sajad Lone said.
He said he will raise the issue in the Assembly session through appropriate legislative devices. “I wish and hope that we, together, across party lines, are able to highlight the severity of this issue. And call a spade a spade - which would mean saying it explicitly and unambiguously that the present reservation system in place is a methodology to disempower and relegate to the margins the inhabitants of the Kashmir Valley,” he said.
Jammu and Kashmir's reservation policy controversy centres on an expanded quota system that reserves over 60 per cent of government jobs and professional college seats, leaving less than 40 per cent for the open merit (general) category.
General category students and aspirants argue that despite making up a large portion of the population, their share of opportunity is restricted to under 40 per cent.
Changes introduced before the Assembly elections added a 10 per cent quota for the Pahari ethnic group and other communities, alongside increases for OBCs and other categories, which critics claim dilutes existing quotas, like for the Scheduled Tribes (Gujjar and Bakerwal).
The National Conference-led government has faced immense pressure to rationalise the quotas.
The J&K cabinet cleared and forwarded a revised reservation policy proposal to Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and the Centre, but delays in formal concurrence have sparked frustration.