Vikram Sharma
JAMMU: The demand for rationalizing existing reservation rules in Jammu and Kashmir has sparked a major political controversy, with two national parties, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), maintaining cautious silence on the matter.
Both parties appear hesitant to openly state their positions, reflecting the contentious nature of the issue.
Senior Congress leader and AICC general secretary Ghulam Ahmed Mir criticized National Conference Lok Sabha member Aga Ruhullah Mehdi’s protest as mere “drama.”
However, Congress leaders are refraining from taking a definitive stance for or against the current reservation policy.
According to a Congress leader, the J&K government has already formed a Cabinet Sub-Committee to examine the issue, and the party prefers to await the panel’s recommendations. He emphasized the importance of considering feedback from all societal sections to meet their aspirations.
J&K Congress chief Tariq Hameed Kara dismissed Mehdi’s protest as an internal matter of the ruling National Conference, reiterating Congress’s unwillingness to interfere.
Kara highlighted the Congress’s broader agenda for a caste-based census, championed by Rahul Gandhi, asserting that reservation policies should reflect population data.
Similarly, the BJP has refrained from taking a clear position. While the party has neither supported the agitating students demanding rationalization nor opposed their cause, its leaders continue to advocate for reservation rules that align with constitutional provisions.
BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh cautioned against undermining the rights of Dalits, Gujjars, and Paharis but stopped short of addressing the ongoing protests.
A senior BJP leader, speaking anonymously, revealed the party’s strategy to avoid involvement in the controversy, leaving the matter to the Omar Abdullah-led J&K government.
The BJP awaits the recommendations of the three-member Cabinet Sub-Committee before announcing its stance. This careful approach comes in the wake of the central BJP government’s recent move to include the “Pahari ethnic group,” “Paddari Tribe,” “Koli,” and “Gadda Brahman” communities in the Scheduled Tribe list of Jammu and Kashmir.
The inclusion, formalized through the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023, passed in Parliament on February 6, has further complicated the debate around reservation policies in the region.
Introduced by Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda in July 2023, the bill marked a historic shift for the newly recognized communities.
Amid these developments, the BJP’s reluctance to engage directly in the reservation controversy underscores the party’s cautious navigation of a politically sensitive issue, leaving the responsibility of resolution to the state government.
