Srinagar, March 15 -- Lone cited the data he had received in response to a question in the assembly to claim that the Jammu region dominated certificate issuances in nearly all categories from April 1, 2023.

"The data shows a vast regional disparity. It highlights stark regional imbalances in the issuance of reservation certificates across Jammu and Kashmir. The findings are a shocker," the Handwara MLA said at a press conference.

He said 100 per cent of the 67,112 Scheduled Caste (SC) certificates issued in the Union Territory had exclusively been in Jammu.

"The Scheduled Tribe (ST) category showed Jammu issuing 4,59,493 certificates (85.3 per cent) while Kashmir issued only 79,813 (14.7 per cent). Similar imbalances exist for Economi...