Omar govt must tread cautiously, says expert

As the reservation policy issue heats up in Jammu and Kashmir, a top Valley-based political expert said on Monday that the issue has become the first major political challenge for the National Conference-led government and they would have to deal with the issue very “carefully” because of the complexities involved.

Lok Sabha MP and NC leader Ruhullah Mehdi on Monday led a protest outside the CM’s residence in Srinagar, demanding changes to the reservation policy, which was brought earlier this year during the L-G Manoj Sinha-led administration. The reservation policy has triggered protests especially after the elected government came to power.

Srinagar-based political commentator Prof Noor Baba told The Tribune that while the issue is not the “creation” of the National Conference as it was brought before the elected government, its challenge is now “how they are able to handle it and communicate it to the people.” He said the issue is a challenge for the National Conference government because it has “complexities in it.”He added,“I'm not sure whether they, on their own under the present jurisdiction, can change it.”

“Both ways, it has a problem. In case they bring back the status quo, a large community of people who have been struggling for reservation will get annoyed. So undoing it will be again a problem for the government. How they bring a balance to the reservation policy needs to be seen,” he said.

Baba also said that the National Conference recently got a huge mandate even “from almost all those that are impacted or those who have been empowered.” “So how are they going to change it and how are they going to deal with the contradictions created out of it. That is going to be a challenge for them,” he said.

Stating that “youth are involved in the issue” and parties will also play politics about it as well, Baba said, “people have expectations from the elected government”.

“For an unelected government, doing and undoing things are very easy because they have no stakes involved in politics…but here, the situation is different. So they will have to tread very carefully,” he said.

According to Baba, ideally if the court decides the issue, “then it will be much easier for the party to see a resolution about the issue rather than doing it on its own.”

The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court is all set to hear the matter later this week.