Srinagar, Dec 03: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday declined to comment on the cabinet’s discussion on the Sub-Committee report on reservation, saying it would not be appropriate to speak until official formalities were completed and the file was forwarded to the Lieutenant Governor.
The Chief Minister was speaking to reporters after the culmination of the cabinet meeting held earlier in Jammu.
He said the cabinet meeting minutes were yet to be finalised and forwarded, and any public statement before that would be premature.
“Cabinet meeting minutes have to be written, signed and forwarded to the LG. Until that is done, it will not be right to comment on what has been decided,” Abdullah said.
He said the cabinet had made serious efforts to live up to the expectations of the people while attempting to rationalise the reservation framework in a fair manner.
“We tried to live up to people’s expectations. We tried to rationalise the reservation system as promised and tried to ensure that no injustice is done to anyone,” he said.
Omar Abdullah said the issue of reservation was treated as a serious matter and required time to address due to its sensitivity.
“This is a serious issue and can easily be politicised. That is why time was taken,” he said, adding that the cabinet worked in a transparent manner.
Omar Abdullah as per the news agency Kashmir News Trust said the ball was now in the court of the Lieutenant Governor and reiterated that no comment would be made until the file reached the LG office.
“The cabinet has done its work. Now the matter is with the LG. Till the file reaches his office, I will not say anything further,” he said.
The Chief Minister revealed that the issue had been discussed multiple times within the Sub-Committee before being placed before the cabinet.
“The reservation issue was discussed in multiple Sub-Committee meetings. For nearly six months, under Sakina Itoo, efforts were made to resolve the matter,” he said.
Without naming National Conference MP Aga Ruhullah, Abdullah said that some people may not be satisfied with the outcome.
“My friends will not be satisfied. But this was not done for the satisfaction of one person. It was done for the larger good,” he said with a smile. [KNT]
