Former CM Mehbooba Mufti, NC MP Mehdi claim house arrest ahead of J&K reservation protest

Ahead of a students’ protest over the reservation policy in Jammu and Kashmir, former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, National Conference (NC) MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) MLA Waheed Para and former Srinagar Mayor Junaid Azim Mattoo on Sunday alleged that authorities placed them under house arrest in Srinagar.

Iltija Mufti, PDP leader and daughter of Mehbooba Mufti, said she was also confined to her residence. Posting on X, she wrote, “Like many others I've also been placed under house arrest at Srinagar today. The insecurity & paranoia of the security agencies knows no bounds. This is the ‘normalcy’ in Naya Kashmir. An entire contingent of female police personnel is deputed at the gate to physically stop me. Care to explain under what grounds @JmuKmrPolice?” 

Iltija Mufti resides with her mother in Srinagar district. Supporters of NC MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi said armed police personnel were stationed outside his residence to prevent him from joining the students’ protest.

PDP MLA Waheed Para also claimed that authorities stopped him from stepping out of his house in Srinagar. In a post on X, Para said, “The reservation policy has become an existential issue that strikes at the very foundation of the future of our younger generations. It has been over a year since we, along with students, assembled outside the CM @OmarAbdullah’s residence."

He alleged a lack of engagement from the government on the issue. "Unfortunately, during this entire period, there has been absolutely zero intent on the part of the govt towards resolving this issue, which has only compounded the uncertainty & anxiety shadowing our youth. This sit-in is a reminder to the government of its obligation to act with transparency & revamp the existing draconian reservation policy.

"At the very least, the reservation report must be placed in the public domain. Further, if the elected government maintains that the matter presently rests with the Lieutenant Governor, there can still be no justification for withholding the report from public scrutiny," he said.

Para added that accountability cannot be avoided. “The responsibility, wherever it may lie must be acknowledged & institutions including the office of CM & LG cannot be insulated from public accountability. The reservation issue is an exceptionally sensitive one & we unequivocally endorse the demand for fairness & its timely redressal,” he said.

Former Srinagar Mayor Junaid Azim Mattoo said security forces had been deployed outside his residence ahead of his planned participation in the protest. “A heavy JKP and CRPF deployment outside my residence right now ahead of my participation in the student sit-in tomorrow. A policy of apartheid against students can neither attain legitimacy nor permanence by curbing voices seeking justice. I stand with the students,” he said.

The NC-led government under Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has proposed reducing the reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) by seven percentage points and cutting the quota for Residents of Backward Areas (RBA) by three percentage points. The move aims to increase the open merit quota for job reservations in the Union Territory to 40 per cent and will come into effect after approval from the Lieutenant Governor.
(With IANS Inputs)