NC minister Sakina Itoo targets Mehdi over reservation protest
Sakina Itoo is also the part of three member cabinet subcommittee formed by the J&K government to relook into the reservation issue
Targeting the National Conference (NC) leader and Srinagar member of Parliament Ruhullah Mehdi over the protest outside chief minister’s residence last month demanding rationalisation of the reservation policy, state health and social welfare minister Sakina Itoo called Mehdi’s protest a ‘cheap publicity’ stunt.
Sakina Itoo is also the part of three member cabinet subcommittee formed by the J&K government to relook into the reservation issue.
“It was the wrong approach. What is this that you just stood up (to protest)? Does (CM) Omar Abdullah have a magic wand that he will wave (to bring results) and you will click pictures for cheap publicity?,” she said in a media interview.
A major protest of youth led by NC’s Mehdi and joined by some opposition leaders against the recently amended job reservation policy was held outside the residence of CM Omar Abdullah in Srinagar on December 23.
Itoo claimed that there was no pressure on the government after the protest.
“And then say that I am pressurising the government. What pressure will you put? Government is not under any pressure and is doing its work. We will do whatever is in our capacity,” she said.
Formet mayor of Srinagar Junaid Mattu criticised NC for targeting Mehdi.
“Make no mistake about this — every single insult being heaped on @RuhullahMehdi by his colleagues in NC has been sanctioned from the CM and his team. These aren’t isolated, spontaneous insults but part of a synchronized ‘cutting to size’ operation. No place in NC for a spine,” Mattu said in a post on X.
“If you can’t respect your own leader and Member of Parliament from Srinagar, how will you respect the people who voted for you?,” he said.
Earlier, another NC leader and Hazratbal MLA Salman Sagar had targeted Mehdi saying the “protest was by NC’s adversaries and Mehdi strengthened our rivals”.
On January 2, CM Omar, while commenting on Mehdi’s protest, had said that this reflected the culture of democracy in his party.
Omar said that the party expected that Mehdi would hold a similar protest for the restoration of statehood in Parliament as well.
Issue in nutshell
The policy introduced by lieutenant governor-led administration, before the assembly elections early this year, had squeezed the general category to below 40% in jobs and admissions, which form the majority of the population, and increased reservation for reserved categories over 60%. The policy triggered anger and protests by the politicians and the open merit candidates.
The Omar Abdullah-led Jammu and Kashmir government on December 10 constituted a three-member panel for a relook at the policy. The committee consisted of health minister Sakina Itoo, forest minister Javed Ahmad Rana and science and technology minister Satish Sharma.
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