Srinagar, J & K : Workers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by party leader Iltija Mufti, staged a protest at the party headquarters in Srinagar on Saturday demanding the public release of the report of the Cabinet Sub Committee constituted to examine and rationalise Jammu and Kashmir’s reservation policy.

The protesters carried placards and raised slogans seeking immediate disclosure of the report and its recommendations.

They also highlighted concerns surrounding the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quota and the residential condition requirement linked to the reservation framework.

Addressing the protesters from atop a vehicle, Iltija Mufti alleged that the government was delaying the release of the report despite its direct bearing on students, job aspirants and open-merit candidates. She demanded that the recommendations be placed in the public domain and subjected to wider discussion.

Mufti also alleged that government jobs in Jammu and Kashmir were being sold and questioned the government’s handling of recruitment and employment opportunities.

The demand for making the report public comes amid an ongoing debate over the reservation structure in government recruitment and professional admissions.

The Cabinet Sub Committee was constituted by the Omar Abdullah-led government in December 2024 following protests and representations from sections of open-merit aspirants.

The panel was headed by Health and Education Minister Sakeena Itoo and comprised Ministers Javed Ahmad Rana and Satish Sharma. It subsequently submitted its recommendations to the Council of Ministers. While the government has maintained that the recommendations underwent the prescribed approval process, the full contents of the report have not been placed in the public domain.

The reservation debate has largely centred on the share available to open-merit candidates and the existing EWS quota.

Reports about the committee’s recommendations have suggested a proposal to reduce EWS reservation from 10 per cent to 3 per cent and the Reserved Backward Areas (RBA) quota from 10 per cent to 7 per cent, with the resulting 10 percentage points proposed to be added to the Open Merit category. However, the complete recommendations have not been officially released.

The issue has remained politically contentious, with groups representing open merit aspirants repeatedly seeking disclosure of the committee’s report and a review of the existing reservation framework.

The PDP protest comes against the backdrop of the government’s stated position that the reservation proposal has gone through the Cabinet process and requires further consideration at the Union level.