Administration thwarts proposed protest
Srinagar: Authorities on Sunday placed several leaders, including PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, under house arrest to prevent them from joining the students’ protest against the existing reservation policy in Jammu and Kashmir.
Officials said Mehbooba Mufti, her daughter Iltija Mufti, Srinagar MP Ruhullah Mehdi, PDP leader Waheed Para, and former Srinagar Mayor Junaid Mattoo have been placed under house arrest.
The move came after these leaders expressed solidarity with students who planned to sit on a peaceful protest at Gupkar Road on Sunday and had announced their intention to join the agitation against the delay in rationalising the quota policy, a year after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah formed a committee to address the issue.
Reacting to the development, Para said it was unfortunate that the leaders had been placed under house arrest to prevent them from showing solidarity with the protesting students.
National Conference MP Ruhullah Mehdi posted on X on Saturday night that armed police have been deployed outside his residence. “Is this a pre-emptive crackdown to silence a peaceful, pro-student demonstration?” he posed.
On Sunday, Mehdi raised sharp questions about his house arrest and the detention of students before the proposed protest, directly challenging the elected government to clarify its position on the reservation issue, political prisoners, and the role of the Lieutenant Governor’s administration.
Mehdi asked under whose direction was he placed under house arrest, and students arrested, asserting that he hoped the action was not ordered by the elected government but taken at the behest of the LG administration.
He also questioned whether the government would continue to wait as file (about reservation) remains with the LG’s office or use this as a “convenient escape route to avoid responsibility”.
The MP expressed disappointment over what he described as the silence of the elected government on the students’ protest, asking why ministers did not join the agitation if they were not responsible for his detention. He reminded that he had openly called upon leaders to come out and support the students but saw no visible participation from the government side.
Mehdi further asked for government’s stance — whether it intends to support the reservation issue, or whether it would continue to delay action citing procedural hurdles.
He also raised the issue of political prisoners and under-trial detainees, asking whether the elected government was prepared to stand with affected families and take the matter to New Delhi through a sit-in protest.
In a direct challenge to the Chief Minister, Mehdi asked whether he would accompany him to Delhi to demand a discussion in Parliament on the 2024 resolution passed by the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly regarding special status. He questioned whether that resolution, like the reservation file, had been effectively consigned to neglect.
The MP said these questions were directed squarely at the elected government, seeking clear answers and concrete action rather than continued silence.
Para, on the other hand, accused the Omar Abdullah government in Jammu and Kashmir of showing zero intent to resolve the reservation issue, saying the existing quota policy has become an existential matter.
In a post on X on Saturday night, he said the reservation policy has become an existential issue that strikes at the very foundation of the future of our younger generations. It has been over a year since we, along with students, assembled outside the CM OmarAbdullah’s residence.”
“Unfortunately, during this entire period, there has been absolutely zero intent on the part of the government towards resolving this issue, which has only compounded the uncertainty and anxiety shadowing our youth,” Para said in the X post.
At the very least, the reservation report must be placed in the public domain, the Pulwama MLA said. There was no justification to withhold the report of the Cabinet sub-committee formed by Omar Abdullah, even if the recommendations were still pending the Lieutenant Governor’s approval, Para added.
Meanwhile, the Awami Itihaad Party (AIP) on Sunday said that its incarcerated chief Engineer Rashid, who represents north Kashmir in the Parliament, has written a detailed letter to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah proposing a concrete and rational solution to the long-pending reservation issue in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the party, the MP has flagged that the existing reservation structure has led to widespread dissatisfaction as it does not proportionately reflect population strength and regional distribution, triggering uncertainty among the young generation, particularly the students. The letter underscores the need for a fair and transparent reassessment to restore public confidence.
Er Rashid has advocated a population-based reservation framework, proposing that reservation be determined strictly in accordance with the population of each community at the district, divisional and Union Territory levels. He has argued that such a model would ensure equitable representation for all sections, including Open Merit candidates and people living in remote, backward and marginalised areas such as ST-I and ST-II pockets.
The MP has also sought a two percent reservation for the youth of Jammu and Kashmir in recruitments to paramilitary forces across the country, terming it a dignified employment avenue that would positively channel the energies of local youth.
The letter urges personal intervention to revisit the reservation structure through a population-sensitive model, asserting that this would bring clarity, fairness and renewed confidence among the youth and marginalised groups of the Union Territory. (With inputs from PTI & KNT)
