Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 3: Peoples Conference Chairman and MLA Handwara Sajad Lone today criticised the NC-led Government over its handling of the reservation issue, accusing it of “passing on the buck” and attempting to “create a wedge in the Kashmiri ranks.”
In a post on X, Lone said the Government could “easily restore district and divisional recruitment through an Act in the Assembly” but was instead avoiding responsibility.
He questioned why the earlier recruitment system was not being reinstated, asking: “What are the disadvantages of district and divisional recruitment? Why are we not restoring them?”
Lone argued that restoring the system would ensure public sector jobs are “spread out across all regions” in a developing economy like J&K’s, thereby promoting “regional inclusivity in jobs.”
He said reservations would be limited to candidates from reserved categories domiciled in a particular district or division, which he claimed would raise the open merit share in Kashmir division “to 70 to 80 per cent.”
Referring to the Reserved Backward Area (RBA) category, Lone said that if the Government’s current position is accurate, “the only reserved category where Kashmiris benefitted… will be slashed,” adding that he “fails to understand how that helps Kashmir.”
He alleged that the core issue was the “systematic exclusion of Kashmiris in the recruitment process,” and that the government’s approach merely “changes the excluded Kashmiri” without addressing the imbalance between Jammu and Kashmir.
“The ratio will remain unchanged. Eighty per cent reservations will still go to Jammu,” he said.
Lone urged people to “take a pen and paper and do some calculations,” noting that the relevant data had already been provided by the Government in response to his earlier question on reservations.
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