Jammu, Aug 12: The Jammu and Kashmir Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday demanded a high-level and impartial inquiry into an alleged irregularities in the selection of outstanding sportspersons for government jobs notified by the Youth Services and Sports Department on June 10.
The demand came as BJP leaders met a group of sportspersons protesting against what they described as the denial of jobs to several deserving and accomplished athletes.
A BJP delegation led by party National Secretary and Jammu-South MLA Dr Narender Singh, along with Bahu MLA Vikram Randhawa, Jammu-East MLA Yudhvir Sethi, Jammu-West MLA Arvind Gupta, Marh MLA Surinder Bhagat and J&K BJP spokesperson Zorawar Singh Jamwal, met the agitating players and assured them of the party’s full support in their demand for justice.
The delegation met the protesting sportspersons on the directions of J&K BJP President and Rajya Sabha member Satpal Sharma and Leader of Opposition and MLA Sunil Sharma.
Addressing the protesting sportspersons, Dr Narender Singh criticised the Omar Abdullah-led government for its alleged failure to address their grievances and accused the administration of maintaining silence despite the athletes having protested for several days.
“We have submitted a detailed letter to the Lieutenant Governor, along with all supporting documents, regarding the alleged injustice done to outstanding sportspersons of Jammu and Kashmir in the recent recruitment,” Singh said. He said the matter required an impartial inquiry to determine whether deserving athletes had been overlooked during the selection process.
“We have no complaint against the candidates who have been selected, but an impartial inquiry is necessary to establish whether all deserving candidates were considered fairly,” he said.
Singh claimed that the Lieutenant Governor had assured the BJP delegation that the matter would be thoroughly reviewed to ascertain why some deserving athletes were allegedly left out of the list.
In their respective addresses, the BJP leaders questioned the role of the Sports Ministry in addressing the grievances of the protesting players, saying the Sports Minister, being from Jammu, should have intervened and met the agitating sportspersons.
“The Sports Minister has the authority to address this issue. Other deserving candidates could also have been accommodated, but the minister has not even met these young sportspersons,” they said.
The BJP leaders further alleged that the selection process had caused considerable distress among athletes, including Divyang sportspersons, and claimed that some players had fallen ill while waiting for the government to respond to their grievances.
“What has happened in the selection of athletes raises serious questions about the process and demands a thorough investigation. Those who have brought laurels to Jammu and Kashmir and the country deserve recognition and justice,” they said.
The BJP demanded that the government immediately review the selection list and provide government jobs to all genuinely eligible and deserving sportspersons after a transparent assessment.
They further alleged that the existing policy had resulted in the exclusion of deserving athletes and called for an inquiry to identify discrepancies, if any, in the list of outstanding sportspersons.
“How can 72 people from a single district and reportedly from a single sport be accommodated while other genuine talent is allegedly ignored?” they questioned, demanding that the selection criteria and implementation of the policy be placed under public scrutiny.
The BJP leaders alleged that the controversy reflected a broader problem of regional imbalance and accused the National Conference-led government of ignoring the aspirations of Jammu’s youth.
“This is not merely an administrative failure. It raises serious questions about whether regional bias has influenced the process. Our sportspersons are the pride and future of Jammu and Kashmir, and they cannot be treated unfairly,” the BJP leaders said.
The BJP said it stood with all genuine sportspersons from Jammu and Kashmir and would continue to raise their concerns until the matter was resolved.
They warned that if the government failed to act on the grievances of the protesting athletes, the issue could develop into a wider public movement.
