New Delhi, Jan 22 (KNS) : Muzzafar Shah, Senior Vice President of the Awami National Conference (ANC), has demanded an immediate halt to the shortlisting process for the Civil Services (Judicial) Mains Examination, calling for a high-level judicial probe into what he termed "grave irregularities" and a "criminal conduct" that warrant exemplary punishment.
In a statement issued to news agency Kashmir News Service (KNS), Shah expressed profound concern over a stark regional disparity in the examination results. He highlighted that of the 124 candidates shortlisted for the viva-voce stage, only 13 hail from the Kashmir Valley, with the remaining 111 selected from the Jammu division.
“It is beyond question and imagination that such a disproportionate outcome could occur in a fair and transparent process,” stated Shah. “This is nothing but dirty politics, now eating into the vitals of our institutions and pointing towards a systemic breakdown in the code of conduct governing our educational and fundamental rights.”
The ANC leader endorsed allegations from dropped Valley candidates of serious irregularities and a lack of transparency. “This stark imbalance cannot be dismissed. It deserves an immediate, credible investigation under the supervision of a sitting judge,” he asserted.
Shah simultaneously issued a stern warning to political actors, urging them to cease what he described as attempts to communalise and polarise Jammu against Kashmir for electoral gain.
Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp ChannelHe cautioned that such tactics risk spinning Jammu & Kashmir “out of control and into a communal frenzy.”
“Polarisation of the masses on communal lines will be disastrous for J&K and the country. Parties engaged in cynical vote-bank politics are hell-bent on driving the last nail into the coffin of a secular and democratic India, with J&K once again being used as a springboard,” he warned.
He cited the recent controversy over merit-based selections at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) in Katra, which he said was deliberately communalised, “driving a dagger deep into the social fabric and creating dangerous divisions.”
Shah called for the direct intervention of the Lieutenant Governor and the Chief Minister. “They must ensure the declared results are kept in abeyance, a thorough probe is ordered, and justice is delivered—irrespective of region or religion,” he said.
He further declared that all politicians and political parties “resorting to religious polarisation in the name of region and religion must be rejected forthwith by the people.” (KNS)