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The Hindu
40 minutes ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Omar Abdullah accuses Mehbooba, Lone of 'political hypocrisy' over reservation issue
Facing outcry for dragging his feet on rationalising reservation quota in government jobs, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday (June 20, 2025) accused the Opposition parties, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and J&K People's Conference (JKPC) chairman Sajjad Lone of 'political hypocrisy'. Referring to Ms. Mufti and Mr. Lone, Mr. Abdullah said these leaders had the opportunity to raise the matter earlier but 'chose to remain silent for political convenience'. 'Why didn't Ms. Mufti speak about it when she was contesting elections from Anantnag and seeking support in Rajouri and Poonch? She needed votes and did not allow even her party members to speak about reservation. Mr. Lone was closely aligned with the government for five years. While we were being thrown out of government accommodations and our security was being downgraded, he comfortably stayed in a government house. Why didn't he speak about reservations then?' Mr. Abdullah asked. Mr. Abdullah's party had promised to rationalise the quota during the Assembly elections last year. This week, a Cabinet Sub Committee (CSC) mandated to suggest recommendations filed its report. However, the government move to send the report to the Law Department for legal vetting is being perceived by the Opposition as 'dilly dallying tactics'. Also Read | Growing voices against proposed 70% quota in Jammu and Kashmir 'If I had wanted a delay, I could have extended the deadline by another six months. No one could have forced me to act. Yet, we chose to move quickly. The Cabinet accepted the Sub-Committee's report and sent it to the Law Department for legal vetting,' Mr. Abdullah said. Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) MLA Waheed Ur Rehman Parra termed the 'withholding of the subcommittee report a violation of democratic principles'. 'There is no room for secrecy in a democracy. Institutions must draw legitimacy from transparency, not concealment. The report directly impacts the future of the region's youth and should be made public without delay,' he said. Reacting to Mr. Abdullah's remarks, Ms. Mufti said, 'As Chief Minister, I ensured that 75% is reserved for open merit when some issue of NEET and other PG exams came up. I never sent the reservation to the Law Department. Now Omar sahib is pinning blame on others. Didn't he promise to resolve this issue?' Jammu and Kashmir's reservation quota was revised under the Central rule after new categories like Paharis, Paddari Tribe, Koli and Gadda Brahmin etc. were included in 2024. The open merit category was reduced significantly less than 40%. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister opposed any proposal to divert waters from Jammu and Kashmir to any other nearby State. 'I will never permit this. Our people in Jammu are already facing drought-like conditions. Why should we divert our water to Punjab? They already get water under the Indus Water Treaty. Did they ever share water with us when we needed it?' he said. On the restoration of Statehood, Mr. Abdullah said he pins hopes on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment. 'The promise hasn't been fulfilled yet,' he added.
The Hindu
19 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Opposition criticises Jammu and Kashmir government for ‘dragging its feet' on quota revamp
The Jammu and Kashmir Government is dragging its feet on finalising a report on the rationalisation of reservation categories in the Union Territory (UT), which is being studied by a Cabinet sub-committee. The committee, in turn, submitted it to the Law Department for legal vetting months ago, and it has been bogged down since. Several opposition parties have expressed dismay and demanded that the Cabinet report be made public. J&K's reservation quota was revised under Central rule after new categories like Paharis, Paddari Tribe, Koli, and Gadda Brahmin, etc., were included in 2024. The open merit category was reduced significantly, to less than 40%. The ruling National Conference (NC), which promised to rationalise the quota, constituted a Cabinet Sub Committee (CSC), which was to file its report in six months. However, no final decision was taken on the rationalisation and no deadline was set for the Law Department, evoking sharp reactions from Opposition parties and open merit aspirants. 'Despite the six-month deadline, the Cabinet has neither offered clarity nor transparency on the report, only vague assertions and now a reported referral to the Law Department. This ambiguity is not just disappointing but also damaging,' Engineer Ehtisham Khan, a student rights activist, told The Hindu. Aspirants in the dark He accused the NC Government of 'keeping the open merit aspirants in the dark yet again.' Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and MLA Waheed-ur-Rehmaan Parra said the Cabinet move has left 'thousands of students heartbroken and disillusioned.' 'This is a deliberate denial of justice. These students have already endured violence, lockdowns, and lost opportunities. Now, as they seek fair representation and rationalised reservation, the government is pushing them further to the margins,' Mr. Parra said. He said the NC Government has the power to strike down the BJP-imposed policy with a single administrative order. NC insincere 'But the party that promised to reverse the BJP's damage is now complicit in continuing it. If the Kashmiri youth are not offered hope, it will only empower subversive elements, further destabilising a generation and their future. Rationalisation of reservation and proportional representation represents the only fair path forward, and it must be implemented without further delay,' Mr. Parra said. He demanded that the government make the report public. J&K Peoples Conference chief and MLA Sajad Lone accused the Abdullah Government of being 'clueless on reservations.' 'It has no intention of doing anything. Now, coming to this draft proposal. To the best of my knowledge, anything sent to the Cabinet should be vetted by the Law Department. It is not the other way around. It looks like another round of time-wasting tactics,' Mr. Lone said. J&K Apni Party (JKAP) president Altaf Bukhari asked the government to set a timeline for addressing the reservation issue. 'Whether the government focus is on revising the CSC report or obtaining legal vetting, it is essential that a clear and fixed timeline be established,' Mr. Bukhari said. He called for 'a judicious reservation policy.' 'One thing is clear beyond a doubt that the current reservation policy is highly flawed and injudicious. There is broad consensus that we require a more judicious reservation policy to protect merit,' Mr. Bukhari said.
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Mayor Brandon Johnson faces city grocery tax pushback as state levy expires
Mayor Brandon Johnson faced stiff criticism from a City Council opponent Wednesday as he introduced an ordinance to implement a grocery tax at the city level. Johnson's administration has argued the 1% city grocery tax is necessary as a state grocery tax that sent revenue to municipalities ends. But Ald. Brendan Reilly accused Johnson of sneaking the ordinance's introduction during a meeting to avoid legislative pushback, in what he characterized as a violation of the Open Meetings Act. 'They intentionally are leaving the public in the dark,' Reilly told reporters later. 'It is obvious the mayor is not proud of this ordinance because he tried to sneak it in without anyone understanding what it would actually do.' Moments after the measure was introduced — the first step in a typically months-long legislative process that includes committee discussion, full City Council votes and often opposition delay tactics — Reilly accused Johnson of hiding the measure with an inaccurate description. Reilly called the introduction 'a cute trick' by Johnson's Law Department. The two debated back and forth, with Johnson at points appearing to not recognize Reilly and Ald. Scott Waguespack as they raised their hands to speak. The mayor dismissed Reilly's claims that his corporation counsel was behind the alleged scheme. 'It was read into the record correctly, if you have an issue with the content or context, that sounds deeply personal, but it was read correctly,' Johnson said. Reilly responded that he would have sent the measure to the City Council's Rules Committee, a move that would delay the tax's passage by adding another layer of required approval. 'Well, what you would have done or could have done, you had an opportunity,' Johnson said. Reilly later cited the Open Meetings Act to argue Johnson was trying to avoid public scrutiny on the tax. And he continued to speak when he was not recognized. 'You have to recognize that,' Reilly shouted, his microphone off. 'I can sue.' The heated back-and-forth marks the official start of what is sure to be a complicated effort by Johnson to keep the tax going for Chicago consumers. Gov. JB Pritzker led the charge last year to rid the state of its decades-old grocery tax, arguing the regressive tax hits poor families hardest. The state tax will expire at the start of 2026. But Pritzker also left the door open for local governments to decide to implement the tax on their own, an offer around 200 municipalities across Illinois have already taken. Johnson's budget director, Annette Guzman, urged aldermen to implement the tax earlier this month. Failing to do so before the Oct. 1 deadline would blow an $80 million hole in the city's already unbalanced future budget, she said. After council adjourned, Reilly told reporters he plans to file a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General, saying the ordinance is now 'ripe for a lawsuit' should it pass. He said City Clerk Anna Valencia traditionally reads aloud the subject matter of the new items, and the obfuscation on Wednesday prevented him from using a parliamentary move to delay the legislation. A spokesperson for City Clerk Anna Valencia told the Tribune Wednesday that the clerk's protocol is to read aloud new items based on the language used in the mayor's transmittal letter to her office. A copy of the letter from Johnson regarding the grocery tax instructed her to introduce the legislation as 'an ordinance amending revenue-related provisions of Title 3 of the Municipal Code,' which was what she did during the meeting. Aldermen also passed a Wrigley Field security upgrade plan that involves $32.1 million from the Cubs, city and state. The team and city officials are hopeful the added safety will check off a final box for Major League Baseball and help land Chicago an MLB All-Star Game. The City Council also decided to grant St. Adalbert Catholic Church landmark status. The decision marks a decisive turning point in a long preservation battle over the closed Polish Pilsen church. Activists who want the church reopened were dismayed that the final landmark status only protects the church building and not other buildings on the property. The narrowed landmarking clears the way for the Archdiocese of Chicago to sell the plot to a nondenominational Christian ministry. Aldermen delayed consideration on an ordinance that would grant them the power to ban Airbnb's and other short-term rentals on a precinct-by-precinct basis. The measure would allow short-term rental companies to overturn aldermen's decision by collecting signatures of support from 10% of an affected precinct's voters.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
M.P. Cabinet approves promotion rules for staff after 9 years
The Madhya Pradesh Cabinet approved rules for the promotion of State Government employees and officials on Tuesday (June 17, 2025)that had been pending for about nine years, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said. Announcing the decision on X, Mr. Yadav said that the interests of all employees, including Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, were taken into account while resolving the matter. 'After promotions are cleared, 2 lakh posts will become vacant in government services, and there is a possibility of fresh recruitment for these,' he said. The Madhya Pradesh Public Service Promotion Rules, 2025, include 20 percent reservation for ST and 16 percent for SC communities, the government said in a statement. Legal delays 'SC and ST public servants will also have the opportunity to access promotion based on merit,' it said. Cabinet Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, who briefed the media, said promotions had been pending for various reasons, including multiple cases in courts. 'The rules have been made in consultation with the Law Department on various decisions of the Supreme Court and the High Court so that the process of promotions does not face any legal hurdles,' he said. The government statement said, 'Provisions have been made for the promotion committees to meet in the current year itself to prepare selection lists for the next year's vacancies, i.e., provisions for advance DPCs (Departmental Promotion Committees) have been included.' It added that the seniority of officials will be given due weightage and those obtaining the minimum qualifying marks will be eligible for promotion. No rotation system The government said that while class 1 officials will be promoted on a merit-cum-seniority basis, there will be no marks system for class 4 employees and that they will be promoted based on suitability. The new rules eliminate the rotation system, which the government claimed will help create more promotional posts. 'DPCs are empowered to determine the suitability of candidates,' it said, adding that provisions have also been made for conducting review meetings of the DPCs to reconsider their decisions. 'Before any DPC meeting, action will not be taken [against any official] merely on the basis of a show-cause notice in a sealed envelope, enabling more officials to receive promotions,' the statement read, adding that the move will create approximately 2 lakh new vacancies in the State. According to reports, the move is expected to benefit about 4 lakh workers and officials in various government departments.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cleveland Heights council planning to send letters seeking investigation
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio (WJW) – A Cleveland Heights council member told the Fox 8 I-Team that the council clerk will be sending letters to state officials and the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office asking for an investigation of the mayor. The I-Team previously reported Mayor Khalil Seren was caught on video going into the law department after hours. His laptop was found hidden in one room. Bagworm outbreak threat growing in Ohio, OSU warns Law Department officials told the Cleveland Heights Police Chief that they were concerned the mayor either recorded or tried to record private meetings between attorneys and some employees concerned about a hostile work environment. On Friday, the city council passed a resolution calling for an investigation of the mayor. Agents with the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation previously declined a request by the police chief to investigate the matter, but council members are hoping the agency will reconsider. The council president said he asked the clerk to send letters to the state and local agencies Monday morning. The mayor declined to talk to the I-Team about the matter and has refused to answer our questions asking why he was in the law department after hours. Seren later released the statement saying he is being targeted because of this race. More than 80 shots fired at Cleveland block party; 1 killed, 5 injured 'Like many Black mayors during the Trump era, I've been subjected to a political lynching – driven by those who have weaponized our community's unaddressed racist biases and hate for their own gain, manipulating fear and division to serve their interests,' part of the mayor's statement reads. Several residents and council members disagree with him. 'From my personal system of values and regard for all humanity, I voted the way I did because we need to pursue the facts,' said Gail Larson, a Cleveland Heights Council member. 'My support of the legislation had nothing to do with the color of the Mayor's skin. Why was he in the law department 'after hours,' as the videos show? Why won't he answer you and your media colleagues when asked, 'Why were you there?' Council President Tony Cuda also released a similar statement that said the council passed the resolution to protect city residents. 'The mayor's statement was nothing more than a gaslighting rant designed to divide our community,' Cuda stated. 'Yet another shameful act on the part of this mayor. There is no way the mayor should be using city resources to do his political bidding.' A heat advisory is in effect in Alaska for the first time ever Many residents agree with the council, including James Bates, who is working with others to have the mayor recalled. Bates said the mayor's message is 'a shameful and manipulative attempt to distort reality and deflect from his own failures.' 'Let's be clear: no one is attacking Mayor Seren because he is Black,' Bates said. 'He is being held to account because of his behavior, his decisions, and his failure to lead with integrity. The community's concerns stem from troubling patterns of conduct, not from the color of his skin. To suggest otherwise is to falsely and dangerously paint Cleveland Heights residents—many of whom proudly support Black leadership—as bigots simply for daring to question their mayor.' Council members have also asked the mayor to resign. The mayor has said he plans to stay in office and is seeking re-election. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
