Owais Gul
Srinagar, Jun 10: While the Cabinet Sub-Committee, formed to examine grievances related to the Union Territory’s revised reservation policy, has completed its report and is set to present it before the Cabinet in its upcoming meeting, member of Parliament from Srinagar and National Conference leader Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi has asserted that the recommendations must reflect the concerns raised by students.
Ruhullah—who has been at the forefront of the demand to roll back the revised reservation policy—said he is scheduled to meet with students on June 11 to discuss the issues leading up to the sub-committee’s report.
“I expect what the students expect—that their demands, concerns, and grievances are addressed with fairness and transparency. There is a clear call for rationalization of the reservation regime and it must be carried out in line with what the students have articulated,” Ruhullah said.
He added that a delegation of student leaders and reservation rights activists is scheduled to meet him on June 11 at 10:30 AM to discuss the issue in detail.
Earlier on Tuesday, Minister Sakeena Itoo, who chaired the sub-committee, provided an update on the progress. “The Cabinet Sub-Committee constituted to examine the issue of reservations has drafted its report within the stipulated time frame of six months. The report will be placed before the Cabinet when it meets,” Itoo said in a post on X.
The committee was constituted in response to widespread concerns following a March 2024 amendment to the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004, under the administration of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. The amendment increased reservations in government jobs from 43% to 70%, largely due to the inclusion of the Pahari community under the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category.
The policy sparked protests and opposition from several quarters, prompting then-Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to establish the Cabinet Sub-Committee to reassess the implications of the move. The panel was given six months to complete its review.
