Cabinet would discuss reservation report after legal vetting: CM

Srinagar, Jun 20: Slamming former Chief Mehbooba Mufti and Peoples Conference president Sajad Gani Lone over their earlier “stances” on the issue of reservation, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said the cabinet would discuss the cabinet sub-committee (CSC) report on rationalization of quota after it is vetted by the Law Department.
Addressing a news conference in Jammu, the CM said that the report would be discussed by the cabinet after its examination by the Law department. “Law department has to examine it. You cannot hijack it. It is a legal document. It needs examination of the Law department,” Omar said.
“If my intention was to buy time, I would have granted a six-month extension to the sub-committee. Do you possess any mechanism to compel me to finalize the report within six months? How many committees have finalized their report within six months? ” Omar asked.
Omar lashed out at Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti over her stance on the issue of reservation, saying that she made a compromise over it in lieu of votes.
“With what face does the PDP speak about the issue of reservation? When Mehbooba Mufti needed votes, she imposed a ban on her party leaders from speaking on it. Should I show you records of her tweets from her official X handle, where she stated that ‘nobody is authorized to speak on the issue of reservation’?” Omar asked.
Omar said that Mehbooba Mufti made a compromise on the issue of reservation in lieu of votes. “Mehbooba Mufti was then fighting elections from Anantnag- Rajouri seat and in pursuit of getting votes from Rajouri and Poonch, she preferred silence over the matter. She not only remained silent but also made a compromise over the issue in lieu of votes, “he said.
The CM also came down heavily on Peoples Conference president Sajad Gani Lone over his latest utterances on the issue of reservation, saying that he preferred silence when reservation rules were changed.
“What can I say about Sajad Lone? He was closely aligned to the government when all this happened. Our security was withdrawn and we were evicted from government houses. He was living in a government house. Why did he remain silent on the issue ?” Omar asked.
Omar said that he would not permit the use of water from the three western rivers of the Indus system in Jammu & Kashmir for Punjab.
“I will never permit this. Let us use our water for ourselves first. There is a drought-like situation in Jammu—why should I send water to Punjab? Punjab already has water under the Indus Water Treaty. Did they provide us with water when we needed it?” the CM said, when asked about the proposed 113 km-long canal aimed at redirecting surplus water from the three western rivers of the Indus system in J&K to Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.
The CM said that he is hopeful that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will stand by his commitments on the restoration of J&K’s statehood. (KNO)