Srinagar, Apr 14: Senior Hurriyat Conference (M) leader, Advocate Shahid-ul-Islam has lashed out at the mainstream political leaders for their “double standards” on the recently passed inter-district recruitment bill.
 Criticizing Rural Development Minister, Ali Muhammad Sagar’s role, he said, “Sagar is anti-Kashmiri from day one and hypocrite who says one thing in Kashmir and another in Jammu.”
 “What does he mean by saying that Mirwaiz Umar Farooq should go through the contents of the bill first before criticizing it. Does he mean to say that he is the only literate person in the world? The way Sagar is behaving is ridiculous. For the sake of his chair he compromised with the interests of Kashmiris,” Shahid said.
 Terming the role of MLA Langate, Er Rashid, “dubious” in the bill controversy, he said, “Everyone in Kashmir is well aware about the antecedents of Rashid. He is a dubious character. On one hand he welcomed the passing of bill while on the other he was opposing it.”
 He lashed out at People Democratic Party’s role. “PDP plays politics on every issue in Kashmir for their benefits.”
 The bill, which was passed by the Assembly on Friday, says that people from a particular district can seek jobs only within that district. But a new amendment keeps eight percent jobs reserved for the Scheduled Caste.
 “We cannot remain mum on steps which hurt the interests of Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir. The government passed the bill in which one area is benefited and others neglected,” he said.
 He expressed apprehensions that people from the Jammu region would apply in the Kashmir, which had no scheduled caste population and was a Muslim-majority region.
 “We want to make it clear that the Jammu and Kashmir is a Muslim majority province and any such step should not be taken which compromises the interests of Muslims,” Shahid added.
 Jamiat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir had also expressed concern over the passing of ‘controversial’ bill.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 14 Apr 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 14 Apr 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:00:00 IST