Srinagar, Sep 21: As the autumn session of the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly convened here on Monday, PDP leader and MLA Pulwama Waheed Ur Rehman Para moved an adjournment motion seeking an urgent debate on the prevailing reservation framework in the Union Territory, alleging its “cumulative impact” has pushed Open Merit candidates, particularly unreserved youth and the Kashmiri-speaking population, “to the wall.”
Giving notice under Rule 56 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business accessed news agency Kashmir News Service (KNS) MLA Para said that the existing reservation structure has reduced the Open Merit share to below 40 per cent, triggering “serious concerns” over equitable access to educational and employment opportunities and causing “considerable anxiety” among the youth.
In a sharp intervention ahead of the session, the Pulwama MLA hit out at what he termed ongoing injustice and “deliberate delay tactics,” asserting that the future of open-merit students “cannot be sacrificed any longer.”
Citing data placed on the floor of the House, MLA Para flagged a stark regional disparity in the implementation of the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category. Against 26,558 EWS certificates issued across the Union Territory, 24,545 were issued in Jammu Division and only 2,013 in Kashmir Division, he said.
Contrasting this with free ration scheme beneficiaries — 37,64,605 in Kashmir Division against 29,76,027 in Jammu Division — the PDP MLA called for an objective examination of implementation and accessibility across regions.
The motion also seeks a review of whether existing income, property and asset-based EWS eligibility conditions “adequately reflect the actual economic vulnerability” of families across J&K.
The motion lists five specific demands: rationalisation of the existing reservation framework and its cumulative impact on Open Merit; assessment of its impact on unreserved youth, particularly the Kashmiri-speaking population; a region-wise and district-wise review of EWS implementation, including the disparity in issuance of certificates; a review of existing EWS eligibility criteria — particularly income, property and asset conditions — to determine whether they adequately capture economic vulnerability; and establishment of an appropriate periodic review mechanism based on current socioeconomic data, representation, educational outcomes and availability of opportunities.
Describing the matter as one that “directly concerns the educational and employment prospects of a large section of the youth of Jammu & Kashmir,” MLA Para requested that the scheduled business of the House be adjourned to enable an urgent discussion on what he called a “definite matter of public importance.”
Notably, the motion is expected to set the tone for a stormy autumn session beginning today. (KNS)
