Srinagar, Nov 8: Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Bandipora, Nizamuddin Bhat Friday urged the J&K Legislative Assembly to press the government to relax the employee verification process.
Speaking during the motion of thanks on the Lieutenant Governor’s address in the house, the Congress legislator highlighted several cases of deserving youth being denied government jobs due to alleged criminal background of distant relatives.
Bhat asked the Speaker to push the government to review the existing process.
The legislator cited the case of Sobiya Mushtaq, an orphan girl, who, as per the MLA Bandipora, was denied employment twice due to issues related to her family’s background. The MLA also cited the example of recently-released journalist Sajad Gul, saying Gul’s brother, despite being selected on merit for a job in a government department, faced delay in verification.
Bhat said that such policies were unjustly penalising innocent individuals, particularly youth and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
He urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to intervene and address the issue, ensuring that the employment verification process does not punish individuals for the unrelated actions of their relatives.
The Congress MLA said that now the onus lies on the Members of Parliament from Kashmir to raise the issue in the Parliament and let them know the aspirations of the people.
“Whatever was to be done by this house, is done. Now our MPs have to take this resolution to the parliament and make them understand what the people of J&K want,” he said.
Bhat said that the country is governed by the majority mandate.
“And everybody should understand the decision of the majority,” he said.
Referring to the resolution passed by the J&K Assembly, he said that the LG in his address mentioned about the restoration of statehood and constitutional guarantee saying that the people and the House had already expressed their will and the ball was in the court of New Delhi.
“When Article 370 and Article 35-A were abrogated, the Congress framed a resolution and that was stronger than what anyone among the suppressed people of J&K could make,” he said.
The Congress legislator said that the Government of India claimed that they brought peace in J&K but what happened after elections raises serious questions.
“What changed soon after elections? We are in a union territory and we have to understand that the security agencies are in their (LG’s) control. We don’t question the security agencies. They had been doing a good job till yesterday and will do their job tomorrow. But the Government of India owes us an explanation,” he said.
