Social Welfare Department, Government of Jammu & Kashmir issued a new notification dated 20th April which amongst others also amends Rule 4 of J&K Reservation Rules 2005 which deals with “Reservation in Direct Recruitment”. In Explanation (A) it is specified that the 6% horizontal reservation will be provided to ex-servicemen against such posts only where the maximum of pay scale does not exceed Rs.10500/-. Brig Anil Gupta, Spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party reacting to the notification said that, “the new notification is not only discriminatory but also humiliating for the ex-servicemen who dedicate their lives to the nation and retire at a very young age to keep the nation’s armed forces fighting fit at all times. To offer horizontal reservation and that too for posts up to 10500/- whereas the minimum pay scale Level 1 as per 7th Pay commission is 18000/- is hurting the dignity and pride of the ex-servicemen.” There is no post carrying pay scale less than 18000/- then how the capping of 10500/- has been conceived by the bureaucrats? Is it done deliberately to hurt the veteran community which in fact had approached the successive governments including the Honourable LG to provide vertical reservation to ex-servicemen as is done in the neighbouring states of HP, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan which have lesser number of ex-servicemen than our UT, questioned Brig Gupta?
Incidentally, J&K has the largest density of ex-servicemen population and the highest number of top bravery award winners yet the benefits and perks provided to ex-servicemen are the least as compared to the rest of the country. The veterans were hoping that with the removal of 370 and 35A and demise of Kashmir centric policies as was the norm with the previous governments, they would get a better deal now and their contribution to the nation would be recognised being nationalists to the core, the new notification has not only saddened them but disappointed them, asserted Brig Gupta.
BJP demands that not only the stipulation of posts up to 10500/- be removed but the reservation be provided across the entire spectrum in class A, B, C and D posts at least, if vertical reservation cannot be provided for the time being.
Similarly, unlike the rest of the nation, JKP has set very discriminatory conditions for enrolment of ex-servicemen in the JKP. While in the rest of the nation the age of an ex-serviceman for reemployment in a government job including police and CAPF is considered to be the “age at the time of retirement minus the total number of years served in the armed forces,” JKP has laid down an age limit of 28 years for enrolment for ex-servicemen. “It is like failing a candidate even without taking his test because hardly any ex-servicemen retires at 28 years of age. The usual age for a Sepoy to retire is between 32-35 years, while the Naiks and Havildars serve up to 40-42 years,” stated Brig Gupta.
BJP appeals to the LG to bring the conditions for enrolment of ex-servicemen in JKP at par with rest of the nation and discriminatory provisions that existed prior to 05 August 2019 be done away with immediately.