SRINAGAR: A day after the Centre amended the gazette notification for reservation in jobs, it has now emerged that back-channel talks between Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari and the Centre and feedback from the saffron party’s J&K unit led to the government reversing its decision and reserving all jobs in J&K for domiciles only. On Wednesday, while laying down the rules for domiciles, the government had reserved jobs up to group 4 only.
However, following angry reactions from local political parties, an amended gazette notification — titled the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of State Laws) Order-2020 — was put out on Friday night, reserving jobs for the domiciles of the UT, which was formed in October last year after the Centre withdrew the special status of the erstwhile state and announced its bifurcation. Senior J&K Apni Party leader Ghulam Hassan Mir said that after the Union Home Ministry unveiled the new domicile policy the party leadership got in touch with the Centre to persuade the government to revise the decision and reserve jobs for J&K residents only.
Sources said Bukhari was in contact with NSA Ajit Doval and Home Minister Amit Shah. They said after two days of negotiation, Bukhari met Doval and Shah in Delhi on Friday and informed them that reserving only Class-IV jobs had hurt sentiments of the youth in the UT. BJP spokesman Arun Gupta said the party leaders took up the issue with the high command and apprised them about brewing resentment.
“People wanted it to be revised and the government has taken the call,” he said. “We have managed to save jobs for Jammu and Kashmir youth. I can claim that I am the first J&K politician who brought something for the youth,” Bukhari said.