Srinagar, April 19 -- In February this year, the Lok Sabha, passed the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023, granting scheduled tribe status to the community. The bill provides reservation in jobs, educational institutions. A month later, the LG administration approved 10% reservation for them and added 15 new castes in the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

The move was seen as an attempt to please the community ahead of Lok Sabha elections.The Gujjar and Bakarwal community are up in arms against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led government for granting status to the Pahari community. The same has raised concerns among people from the open Merit category.

The petition has been filed by Mohammad ...