The Jammu & Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) went ahead with the Combined Competitive Exams (CCE) on Sunday, rebuffing chief minister Omar Abdullah’s call to postpone it citing a dispute over age relaxation and large-scale flight cancellations.

Hundreds of aspirants who had crossed the age limit fixed by the JKPSC could not take the preliminary examinations on Sunday after the administration led by lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha failed to clear an age-relaxation proposal sent by the cabinet headed by Omar on December 2.

Student leader Nasir Khuehami said several eligible aspirants from Jammu and Kashmir studying outside also could not take the test because of flight disruptions.

“I believe that around 5,000 aspirants were hit, and they include those who were eligible. There was no clear communication from the commission about whether the test would be held. Flight disruptions also pushed up airfares,” Khuehami told
The Telegraph.

“We want the issue resolved. If the upper age limit for Union civil services exams and other state-level exams is 38, why is it only 32 for Jammu and Kashmir aspirants?”

There was no clarity on the exams on Saturday, with the JKPSC only issuing a notification at midnight stating the CCE would be conducted as per schedule. Earlier, Omar and Sinha had appeared to blame each other for the crisis.

The chief minister is facing severe criticism over the fiasco, with many suggesting it is proof that Jammu and Kashmir’s disempowerment continues unabated.

“The letter (by Omar to the PSC chairman) will be a footnote in history. An absolutely inappropriate, meek and apologetic tone of communication from an elected CM to a JKPSC Chairperson,” former Srinagar mayor Junaid Azim Mattu wrote on X.

“We were disempowered in 2019 and the NC Government is validating that disempowerment by its embarrassing behaviour every single day,” he added.

Omar had fired a salvo at the LG from his official X handle on Saturday, expressing “deep concern over the travel chaos caused by the ongoing airline issues” and “compounded by the uncertainty resulting from Lok Bhavan’s delay in approving age relaxation”.

Sinha responded through social media that he had returned the chief minister’s file the same day (December 2) with a query about the possibility of holding the examination on the scheduled date if the upper age limit was relaxed, but received no follow-up from the government.