Rationalised reservation policy in line with commitments made with people: CM

Jammu, Dec 3: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said the cabinet tried to rationalise the reservation policy in the way they had promised to the people of Jammu & Kashmir.
Talking to reporters after chairing a cabinet meeting in Jammu, Omar said the cabinet tried to ensure that there should be no injustice to anyone. “An effort was made to rationalize the reservation in the way we had promised to the people. Effort was also made to ensure that there should be no injustice to anyone.” he said.
The cabinet today morning met at Jammu to discuss implementation of the cabinet sub-committee’s report on rationalization of the reservation policy.
Without naming anyone, Omar said those who were accusing them of doing nothing on the reservation are now threatening agitation. “It is easy to do politics on the issue. Those who were taunting us, saying that we had done nothing on reservation, are now saying if you do this, we will launch an agitation,” he said.
The CM said that they couldn’t have done more on the reservation. “We couldn’t have carried out a more detailed exercise than this. Every issue was looked into. The issue was discussed more than once. This is the third or fourth time that the issue has come before the cabinet. The cabinet sub-committee took six months to complete the exercise,” he said.
Omar, however, refused to disclose the cabinet’s decision on the reservation.
“It wouldn’t be right to comment on this issue more unless we will sign minutes of the cabinet meeting and send it to LG for approval,” he said.
The CM said the reservation has not been rationalised to satisfy any individual, but was an election commitment made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. “The friends you are referring to wouldn’t be satisfied with anything. They wouldn’t be satisfied by any measure. We have not done this to satisfy anyone. Nobody should presume that it was done to satisfy him. It is an effort from our side to fulfill the commitment made to the people of J&K,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that the Election Commission of India should address concerns of the political parties over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
“It is the duty of the Election Commission to hold elections in a transparent manner and ensure that nobody should have grievances about it. If there are apprehensions with regard to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Election Commission should call all political parties and make them understand there is no need to panic about SIR,” he said.
Omar said he has never raised finger of suspicion on electronic voting machines. “I don’t believe that elections can be manipulated through EVMs,” he said.
He, however, added that election can be manipulated through other means. “If you look at the delimitation exercise carried out here, it was also an election manipulation. You increased six seats in Jammu to benefit one party,” he said. (KNO)