Bill on inter-district recruitments in current session: Government NC, PDP Members Censure Reservation System; Altaf Clarifies ST Stand

Greater Kashmir

SYED AMJAD SHAH

Jammu, March 20: The Government has decided to bring a bill in the assembly banning the controversial inter-district recruitments in the state.
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar Saturday told the assembly that the bill will be introduced in the House on Monday. “It (bill) has become necessary in view of the concern voiced by legislators and also to protect the rights of youth,” he said.
Earlier in the day, main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and two of the ruling National Conference (NC) legislators staged a sit-in and later walked out of the assembly demanding introduction of a bill on the issue.
The agitating legislators also objected to the reservation of eight percent jobs in the Kashmir Valley for the Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates. They said the reservation for these candidates, when the community had no presence in the Valley, denied job opportunities to the local candidates.
“We will not allow our youths to suffer because of the reservation of jobs for the outsiders. The district posts should be filled up by the candidates from the district concerned only,” the legislators said before joining a sit-in in the well of the house.
NC members Mir Saifullah (Kupwara), Kafeel-ul-Rehman (Karnah) and Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan (Handwara) joined the protest by PDP members Abdul Haq Khan, Javed Mustafa Mir and Independent MLA Engineer Rasheed to press for abolition of the existing inter-district recruitment system. They were demanding an assurance from the government on bringing the bill on the issue in the house during the current session.
The members even staged a sit-in for some time near the well to press their demand. They were shouting slogans ‘Backward districts Ke Sath Zulum Bandh Kar;’ Inter district recruitment Bandh Karo’.
The members however, returned to their seats after the minister for law and parliamentary affairs, Ali Muhammad Sagar assured them that the matter was under consideration of the House and the Bill, pending from the last session, would be tabled in the House during the ongoing session, most probably on Monday.
When the members of PDP and NC were demanding tabling of the Bill, they came under criticism from Jammu based parties, who were heard shouting that the Bill was not in the interest of the unemployed youth of the state.
As the members were protesting, forest minister Mian Altaf Hussain got up to clear the stand of ST Community over the issue. “ST community has its own quota in the recruitment process which can not be shared with the SC category”, he said. The people falling under ST category are the worst sufferers of the prevailing system, he added.
Later participating in the discussion of grants, Choudhary Aslam of Congress also came in support of Mian Altaf and said that the quotas of ST and SCs shall not be mixed.
MLA Zanskar, Feroz Ahmad Khan, said that the ST community was united over the issue and “no one will be allowed to snatch our right”.