Jammu and Kashmir ruling National Conference (NC) chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq on Monday said no government can stop peaceful protests, as they remain an important indicator of a healthy and functioning democracy.
Sadiq said protesters should not have been stopped or denied their right to protest. He noted that the government had previously allowed similar protests to take place in December 2024, even when students marched towards the Chief Minister’s residence, which should not have happened.
Yet, there was perhaps a reason for the government to ban the student protests demanding rationalisation of reservations in government jobs in the Union Territory, he added.
He further said the current reservation policy has caused stress and depression among open merit aspirants, who believe the government is doing injustice and destroying their future by the contentious reservation policy. According to them, the policy favours reserved category aspirants while ignoring the plight of open merit candidates.
“The right to peaceful protests is enshrined in the democratic constitutions worldwide, and every person should be allowed to exercise this right. What happened on Sunday was obviously not right,” Sadiq said.
He was referring to the Omar Abdullah-led government’s decision to place Srinagar MP Aga Mehdi Ruhullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti under house arrest.
On the reservation policy, Sadiq maintained that the government had followed all necessary steps promised in the party’s manifesto for the 2024 Assembly elections.
“If we had suggested any change in the policy, we would have informed the students, but there were no changes made to the policy; we kept it as promised,” he said.
When asked about recruitments, he said, “The government will continue advertising posts, but clarification on the reservation issue is needed before the final decision is approved.
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