The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday alleged that its Baramulla District President, Mohammad Rafique Rather, was placed under house arrest ahead of the party’s proposed protest against the outsourcing of government jobs in Jammu and Kashmir.
In a statement, the PDP said Rather was not allowed to leave his residence to prevent him from participating in the party’s district-level protest.
The party has planned demonstrations at district headquarters across Jammu and Kashmir against what it termed the government’s “outsourcing policy” and alleged irregularities in recruitment.
There was no immediate response from the administration or police to the PDP’s allegation that Rather had been placed under house arrest.
The outsourcing issue has emerged as a major political flashpoint between the ruling National Conference (NC) and the opposition PDP. While the PDP has accused the NC government of making appointments through the outsourcing route and facilitating “backdoor appointments”, the NC has rejected the allegations, asserting that the outsourcing mechanism was introduced during the PDP-BJP coalition government between 2015 and 2018.
Both parties have accused each other of promoting corruption in government recruitment.
Last week, the PDP staged a protest in Srinagar over the issue. PDP President Mehbooba Mufti last week claimed that the National Conference government had made around 25,000 “backdoor appointments” since assuming office in October 2024.
