Srinagar, Oct 28: Heated exchanges erupted in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Tuesday after BJP MLA Shakti Parihar from Doda West accused the government of regional discrimination in transfer orders within the Education Department.
Parihar alleged that while transfers were being executed in Kashmir, the Jammu region had been ignored, sparking noisy protests from opposition members and counter-reactions from treasury benches.
Responding to the allegations, Education Minister Sakina Itoo dismissed the BJP’s claims, saying the party was “habitual of crying discrimination.” She maintained that there was no regional bias, citing official figures showing 350 appointments in Kashmir and 860 in Jammu under recent recruitment drives.
Itoo added that the Departmental Promotion Committees (DPCs) were in progress and that transfer processes had begun from Poonch and Rajouri, but were temporarily halted due to objections.
The minister further clarified that a blanket ban on recruitment had earlier frozen 1,500 posts, which nearly crippled the department. “I am thankful to the Chief Minister for de-freezing 50 per cent of the posts,” she said, accusing the BJP of pushing the department toward dysfunction.
The House later returned to normal proceedings after brief uproar. (Agencies)
