Jammu & Kashmir: Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, PDP Leaders, students under house arrest ahead of reservation policy protest

Srinagar: Authorities placed several leaders, including ruling National Conference Lok Sabha member Aga Ruhullah Mehdi and opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) leaders Waheed Para and others under house arrest on Sunday ahead of the protest demanding rationalisation of the reservation policy.

Several students who were planning to participate in the protests were also detained and armed forces were stationed around Polo View in Lal Chowk and Gupkar road to avoid any scuttle. According to Aga, police personnel detained the parents of some students and asked them to bring their wards to the concerned police stations. Students were also not allowed to move out of hostels in some educational institutions.

"Police informed me in the morning that I cannot move out of my house and have been placed under house arrest. Similarly, students have been summoned and detained and parents of some students have been summoned to police stations. They should be released immediately," said Aga in a video message shared on his social media account. The Lok Sabha member from Srinagar asked who was behind this "intimidation and harassment" of students and the "house arrest" of leaders.


"What is the limit of this elected government? What are you waiting for? If this file is with the L-G's office, why haven't you joined our protests? When will you react if the file will not be cleared?" said Aga.

Protests concerning rationalisation of reservation started from December 2024, immediately after the formation of the NC-led government in J&K, which later formed a sub-committee to analyse the demands. The students demanded rationalisation stating that the number of reserved seats in jobs and educational institutions is heavily skewed in favour of categories with over 65% of seats reserved for them.

The Omar Abdullah-led government claims that they have sent the file to the L-G's office for approval. Aga leading the protests against his own government and joining hands with the opposition PDP on this issue has both embarrassed and irked the ruling NC.

NC president Farooq Abdullah also obliquely justified the government decision on the clampdown on Sunday stating that the leaders should clarify what they wanted to do by organising these protests. "We are doing as much as we can. Perhaps, they do not like that the state is progressing. They want turmoil, which we will not allow to happen," Abdullah told reporters here.