Reservation Row: Srinagar MP warns govt to brief students on ongoing action or face protests

Srinagar: Estranged National Conference (NC) Lok Sabha MP Ruhullah Mehdi on Thursday threatened the government with a protest if it did not apprise the students of the steps taken to resolve the reservation matter. He announced that he would go on a protest on Sunday if the NC-led government did not meet his demand.

"I have neither forgotten nor left the students alone. I urge the government once again to talk to the students and inform them of the measures and decisions taken to resolve this issue," Mehdi said in a post on X. The Srinagar MP said that he would not leave the students in a lurch.

"I will walk with them and sit with them on this coming Sunday at the same place as we did last year on December 23 to make them heard," he said, referring to a protest outside Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's residence in Gupkar here.

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The lawmaker had last month asked the government to resolve the reservation issue before the end of the Winter session of Parliament, and had threatened to join the quota protests if no action was taken. However, he could not travel to Srinagar due to flight disruptions.

After last year's protest, Abdullah set up a cabinet sub-committee to look into the students' concerns against the existing reservation policy in the Union Territory and submit a report within six months. On October 16, Abdullah said the cabinet had accepted the report of the sub-committee, and it was to be sent to the lieutenant governor for approval.