Reserve issue
Srinagar: The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday cornered the National Conference government on the issue of reservation in Jammu and Kashmir and said intervening decisively on the matter is a test for the ruling party as its promise of dignity, fairness and local empowerment is “hanging by a thread”.
The PDP in its monthly newsletter ‘Speak Up’ said that Jammu and Kashmir has been for months consumed by one of the most explosive policy battles in recent memory: the radical overhaul of reservation.
Highlighting that lieutenant governor administration’s 2023 amendment raised quotas to 70 per cent and slashed the open merit share to just 30 per cent, the opposition party said it is a move that the National Conference leaders once vowed to challenge, but now seem increasingly unsure how to make headway.
The PDP said the fallout of the change has been swift as from gateway exams to job notifications, the streets and social media is “filled with frustration”.
“Civil service aspirants, student groups and community leaders across the Valley say the system is rigged, favoring some groups while ignoring others entirely. Official data tells the story: Kashmir received just 14.7 per cent of ST certificates, while Jammu got 85.3 per cent,” the PDP’s newsletter said.
Escalating its attack, the PDP said the National Conference leaders scrambled to respond caught in this backlash.
Referring to Srinagar Lok Sabha MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, the opposition party said, “One of their MPs even joined student protests, breaking with the party’s usual caution.”
The PDP said the government formed a Cabinet Sub-Committee headed by Education and Social Welfare Minister Sakina Itoo and promised remedies, but the same department told the high court to dismiss the public interest petition challenging the imbalance.
“Today, a six-month policy review report sits on Omar Abdullah’s desk, but it has yet to see the light of day,” the newsletter added.
The PDP said the “vacuum” is now being filled by voices like the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA), whose newly released 15-point proposal calls for a caste-based socio-economic census, restoration of a 60:40 merit-quota ratio, clearer EWS rules and sub-categorization within reserved groups.
“Open Merit candidates preparing for NEET-PG and JKCCE warn that this is more than a quota issue. It is a social fault line, and one that could deepen if ignored,” the newsletter said.
The PDP has always stood firm on a simple principle: justice must be rooted in equality, where merit is not sacrificed at the altar of identity, it said.
The PDP said the arbitrary expansion of reservation has turned competitive exams into a numbers game, pushing open-category youth to the wall.
When policy rewards identity over individual effort, it does not uplift the marginalized. It divides communities and breeds resentment, the party added.
The PDP said the National Conference “came to power promising dignity, fairness and local empowerment”.
“Today, that promise is hanging by a thread. Mixed signals in court, opaque policy reviews, and prolonged silence from leadership are fueling a dangerous cynicism…If the party fails to intervene decisively, it risks being remembered not for reform but for regression,” the opposition party added.
The PDP said this is no longer just a policy debate, it is a test of leadership.
And in that test, the youth of Kashmir are watching closely, the newsletter said.
