Srinagar, December 7, 2025 : People’s Conference president and Handwara MLA Sajad Gani Lone on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, accusing him of playing the role of a “helpless chief minister” and shifting responsibility to the Lieutenant Governor’s office over the contentious upper age-limit issue for aspirants appearing in the J&K Public Service Commission’s Combined Competitive Examination (CCE).
Addressing reporters in Srinagar, Lone alleged that despite repeated appeals, the elected government failed to act on demands for age relaxation, thereby shattering the aspirations of thousands of youth across the Union Territory.
“For the last one year, we have been seeing a chief minister trying to become Mr Bechara. He keeps crying that he does not have enough powers to get things done,” Lone said, accusing Omar Abdullah of passing the buck to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
The People’s Conference leader said that government inaction on the age relaxation demand has denied countless young aspirants the opportunity to compete for administrative services.
“He would not understand the dreams of these youngsters. I am not sure if he has ever taken a competitive examination. Thousands of youths who dreamed of becoming officers have been stopped at the gate,” Lone said.
Referring to the ongoing exchange between the Chief Minister and the Lieutenant Governor on social media, Lone said the time had come for Omar Abdullah to respond point by point to the LG’s posts on X.
“If it is true that on December 2, the Lieutenant Governor returned the file with a simple question—who will bear the financial burden if the age criteria is changed—and there was no reply from the elected government, then the Chief Minister is directly answerable,” Lone asserted.
He further questioned the National Conference’s electoral promises, stating that Omar Abdullah had contested the Assembly elections on the plank of restoring the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
“He has not even managed to provide age relaxation for one examination. Restoration of Article 370 and 35A is completely out of the question,” Lone said.
Taking aim at the top National Conference leadership, Sajad Lone accused it of indulging in what he termed a “classic double play” in national politics.
“Farooq Abdullah believes in the Congress version of vote theft, but Omar Abdullah seems more aligned with the BJP version. There is a limit to such double play in 2025, especially when everything is recorded on camera,” Lone remarked, adding sarcastically that Omar Abdullah’s real strength appeared to be his confidence that he could “walk away from it all.”
The age-limit controversy has sparked widespread anger among PSC aspirants, with protests and growing political pressure mounting on the government to immediately address the issue.
