June 11, 2025: Health and Education Minister Sakina Itoo announced on Tuesday that the cabinet subcommittee, which was established by the government of Jammu and Kashmir to examine the reservation policy in the Union Territory (UT), has finished its report and will present it at the upcoming cabinet meeting.
Opposition parties and student organizations that support the open merit category, however, have criticized the minister's comments as being "vague" and demanded that the report be made immediately available to the public.
The Pahari community was given a 10% reservation by the UT administration, led by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, in 2024. This increased the percentage of reserved seats for different categories to 60%, leaving just 40% for open merit applicants in government positions. The action was widely criticized. Students and opposition leaders called for an examination of the policy following Omar Abdullah's appointment as Chief Minister last year.
The Omar Abdullah-led government declared the creation of a cabinet subcommittee to look into complaints about the reservation system in response to growing pressure and student demonstrations.
Minister Itoo affirmed that the committee had finished its report on Tuesday, the last day of the six-month period. She wrote on X, "The report will be presented to the Cabinet at its meeting."
The statement was rejected by the Open Merit Students Association (J&K), which represents students in the general category, seeing it as a "vague response from the sub-committee."
Without a specific date, the statement that the report will be "presented before the Cabinet when it meets" is meaningless. The group added in a statement that there is no roadmap, no indication of when action will be done, and no reference to a Cabinet meeting. "We demand that the report be made public right away if it is finished. More uncertainty or misplaced optimism will not silence the open merit community, which has waited long enough.
The group went on to say, "This is an issue of justice, not politics." "Until there is complete accountability, we will keep speaking up."
Waheed Para, a Pulwama MLA and leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), also insisted that the findings be made public. He wrote on X, "Students are demanding answers, not delays." Why is the cabinet committee report being withheld? Intentions, not acts, are in doubt following your government's unfavorable legal position. Transparency is the least that the people deserve after six years of an unelected government.
The way the matter was handled was also criticized by the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), which is led by imprisoned MP Engineer Rashid.
"NC Minister Sakina Itoo's statement that the report will be presented to the Cabinet during its meeting is ambiguous," AIP main spokeswoman Inam Un Nabi remarked. This is betrayal, not only carelessness. This exposes the NC's crocodile tears for merit. "This time, the resolution on reservation must be given without further delay, in addition to the report being made public," he continued.