PDP workers protest in Srinagar over delay in reservation policy review

PDP members staged a protest outside the party office in Srinagar on Saturday after police prevented them from marching to Residency Road to demand the release of a report on reservation rationalisation prepared by a Jammu and Kashmir government cabinet sub-committee.

Party sources said PDP workers led by Iltija Mufti had gathered at the party office before attempting to begin the march. Police personnel blocked the main gate, prompting Iltija and several party leaders and workers to climb over it in an attempt to proceed towards Residency Road. The march, however, could not take place.

Addressing reporters, Iltija said the Omar Abdullah government had assured general-category students protesting against the existing reservation system that their concerns would be reviewed within six months.

She claimed that nearly two years had passed since the assurance, but the government had yet to deliver what was promised to the protesting students.

Iltija also raised concerns about the share of opportunities available to open-merit candidates under the current reservation framework. She said around 70 per cent of government jobs and seats in educational institutions, including professional colleges, are reserved, while open-merit candidates, who she said constitute about 70 per cent of Jammu and Kashmir’s population, compete for the remaining 30 per cent.

She argued that the reservation structure places additional pressure on families who spend their savings on their children's education while seeking access to limited opportunities.

The PDP has been demanding that the government make the cabinet sub-committee's report public and take steps to address what it describes as an imbalance in the existing reservation system.

with inputs from PTI