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Omar on backfoot over OBC reservation review report

SRINAGAR: The Omar Abdullah government in Jammu and Kashmir faces growing political and community pressure ahead of the submission of the Cabinet Sub-Committees reservation review report, with OBC groups demanding a steep quota hike and Kashmiri leaders warning against any dilution of the Residents of Backward Areas (RBA) category. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah recently confirmed that the cabinet will take up the issue of rationalising job reservations in its next meeting. We were constrained by the fact that I did not want anybody to sabotage this by going to the Election Commission because of the (model) code of conduct. Now that the code of conduct is over, the concerned minister will present the memo in the next cabinet meeting, and we will discuss it then, he said. Reservations have emerged as a major flashpoint following the Centres expansion of reserved categories and the increase in quotas over the last five years. The Lt Governor administrations policy before last years Assembly polls pushed the reserved-category share to over 60%, substantially reducing the Open Merit quota. Currently, SCs hold 8%, ST 20%, EWS 10%, RBA 10%, OBC 8% and ALC/IB 4%. Adding political pressure, NC MP Aga Ruhullah has issued a December 20 ultimatum to the government to present what he called a balanced reservation policy or face protests. R K Kalsotra, State President of the All India Confederation of SC/ST/OBC Organisations (J&K), said the OBC quota must rise to at least 15%. He noted that the Mandal Commission recommended 27% reservation nationally for OBCs, reflecting 52% of Indias OBC population. In J&K, too, OBCs constitute a major chunk of the population and we only get 8% reservation. Kalsotra urged that reservations be restricted to four categoriesSC, ST, OBC and EWSand proposed a revised structure of OBC 15%, ST 12%, SC 10% and EWS 10%, totalling 47%, leaving 53% for Open Merit. He called categories like RBA, ALC and ST-II political creations for vote-bank purposes. However, Kashmiri leaders argue that removing RBA would severely disadvantage the Valleys communities. Peoples Conference chairman Sajjad Lone said, I had expressed apprehension that changes, if any, will be at the cost of Kashmiri-speaking population, adding that even during BJP rule, the RBA structure was left untouched because this is the only form of reservation where Kashmiris get some relief. The PDP has also opposed any cut to the RBA share. Any cut in RBA quota will dilute Kashmiri representation under the guise of administrative rationalisation, PDP MLA Waheed Para said. Major flashpoint Reservations have emerged as a major flashpoint following the Centres expansion of reserved categories and the increase in quotas over the last five years.

2 Dec 2025 9:22 am