Parties in J-K slam NC govt for defending reservation policy in high court

Political parties in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday slammed the National Conference (NC) government for defending the reservation policy, which provides 70 per cent quota to various groups, in the high court.

Jammu and Kashmir's Social Welfare Department has submitted an affidavit in the high court, saying the writ petition is "mischievous" and "frivolous in nature" and has been filed with "an intent to abuse the judicial process".

The government has sought dismissal of the petition titled 'Zahoor Ahmad Bhat and others versus UT of J-K and others'.

The affidavit comes even as the government has constituted a Cabinet sub-committee, headed by Social Welfare Minister Sakina Itoo, to look into the issue of reservation after protests over the policy.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) MLA from Pulwama Waheed Para said the Cabinet sub-committee was nothing, but a "facade to mislead" the public.

"The J-K government now defends a deeply flawed reservation policy in court. The so-called Cabinet Committee was nothing but a facade to mislead the public. Now, they're seeking to dismiss the writ petition as baseless another blatant attempt to sabotage the future of meritorious students in J-K," Para said in a post on X.

Peoples' Conference chief and Handwara MLA Sajad Lone said the government has not mentioned the formation of the Cabinet sub-committee in its affidavit.

"Nowhere has the government mentioned the formation of a sub-committee on reservations. This is a legal mystery. Seems the government is not taking its own committee serious enough to merit a mention in its legal affidavit," Lone said on X.

Meanwhile, Itoo on Saturday said the Cabinet sub-committee will meet some delegations on Sunday to address key issues and gather inputs on reservation.

"The Cabinet sub-committee on reservation will be meeting with some delegations at SKICC tomorrow. The meeting will focus on addressing key issues and gathering inputs on reservation-related matters," Itoo said in a post on X.