The Hindu : National : Row over Kashmir PSC list intensifies

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 16, 2004

National

National

Row over Kashmir PSC list intensifies

By Our Staff Reporter

JAMMU, JUNE 15 . The differences between the Kashmir Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Finance, Muzaffar Hussian Baig, and the State Public Service Commission (SPSC) chairman, Mohd. Akhter Murtaza, have further widened.

The two have been on a confrontation course ever since the list of the SPSC for the Kashmir Administrative Services (KAS) was announced recently. There were allegations that the list had a `regional bias.' A number of candidates who were left out had taken up the issue with Mr. Baig and the Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

Mr. Baig issued a statement that the matter should be probed and he reportedly talked of a CBI probe into the functioning of the SPSC and to check the "manipulations" in its selection procedure. Reacting to this, Mr. Murtaza said at a press conference: "Mr. Baig has no hold on the Commission, which is a Constitutional body. If he (Mr. Baig) is trying to hold a CBI inquiry against a Constitutional body, he is eroding the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir for which he stands for."

Mr. Murtaza, who was accompanied by the SPSC Secretary, Sham Lal, denied there was any regional bias. He said 12,472 candidates had applied for the exam from the Jammu region as against just 7,815 from the Kashmir Valley. Again, 9478 candidates appeared for the preliminary examination from the Jammu region as against 5884 from the Valley.

A total of 2108 candidates had qualified for the Mains examination. Of them, 1428 belonged to Jammu and 680 to the Valley. A total of 421 candidates applied for Viva Voce — 321 from Jammu and 100 from the Valley. Of the 139 selected candidates, 102 belonged to Jammu and 37 to Kashmir.

Immediately after his press conference, a letter from the Civil Secretariat written by Mr. Murtaza to Mr. Baig last year was leaked to the press.

In the letter, Mr. Murtaza had expressed his displeasure over the working of the PSC and raised questions on some of the selections made in that period.

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