A delegation from the Open Merit Students’ Association, Jammu & Kashmir (OMSA J&K) met Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, Member of Parliament (MP) from the Srinagar constituency and leader of the ruling J&K National Conference (JKNC) today, June 5, expressing concerns over the delay in the submission of the report by the Cabinet Subcommittee on the union territory’s reservation policy.
The delegation was led by activist and member of the association Sahil Parray.
In the meeting, the MP reiterated his support to the students and assured them that he would stand by them in case the report was not released.
To recall, students from the open merit category in Jammu & Kashmir have been alleging that the current reservation policy of the state is unfair to them. They claim that over 60 per cent of the seats in higher education and government posts are reserved for various communities in the state, leaving about 30 per cent for open merit.
According to them, this does not reflect the demographic realities of the union territory, as the communities and ethnic groups in the reserved category only make up around 30 per cent of its population.
Thus, they argue that the reservation policy denies a majority of the students and aspirants opportunities.
Following intense protests in November 2024, the Government of J&K, led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, announced the formation of a Cabinet Subcommittee to look into the reservation policy of the state for possible revision.
The committee comprises Education Minister Sakina Itoo, Minister for Public Health Engineering Javed Rana, and Minister for Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Satish Sharma, and has been tasked to submit its report in six months since its formation.
Even though the committee was formed on November 22, it was officially notified on December 10 — making June 10 the deadline for its report.
As the deadline approaches closer, the OMSA urges the subcommittee to submit its report without delay.
“Only 5 days are left before the six-month deadline ends. The youth cannot wait any longer. Thousands of deserving and qualified youth are waiting in hope (.sic),” the association said in a post on its official X (formerly known as Twitter) handle.
