Usman Majid slams MLA Nizam Ud-Din Bhat for recommending relatives to public jobs without transparency

• Says, merit hijacked, youth betrayed, MLA Bandipora turns public jobs into private fiefdom

SRINAGAR: Former Minister and MLA Bandipora, Usman Majid on Wednesday has expressed serious concern over the surfaced recommendation letter by MLA Bandipora, Nizam Ud-Din Bhat, terming it a glaring example of favoritism, nepotism, and abuse of public office. The letter, which recommends the continuation and engagement of eight close relatives of the MLA in outsourced positions at a government medical facility, has triggered widespread outrage among unemployed youth and qualified paramedical graduates across the region.

In a statement, Majid condemned the brazen bypassing of transparent and merit-based recruitment norms. “It is unacceptable that government opportunities meant for the public good are being distributed like private entitlements. This is not just a procedural lapse, it is a deliberate betrayal of our educated youth,” he said.

He emphasized that the letter in question, addressed to the Medical Superintendent of Bandipora, reflects a disturbing trend of institutionalized nepotism where public offices are misused to secure jobs for family members without any public advertisement, open applications, or competitive process. “Out of the eight names recommended, all are his own relatives. This is not influence, it is pure misuse of authority,” he stated.

Is this even permissible under a democratic and constitutional system of public employment? Why were only his relatives chosen? Where was the public advertisement? Where were the open applications? Where was the competitive screening process? How can any deserving student across Bandipora expect a fair chance in such a deeply compromised, rigged system, where nepotism is not just tolerated but institutionalized?, he said.

This is precisely what Nizam Ud-Din Bhat has always stood for, adjusting his relatives, kith and kin at every possible opportunity, with no shame and no regard for merit. In this particular instance, he has written directly to the Medical Superintendent of Bandipora, instructing him to adjust his own family members in outsourced posts. Out of the eight names he has recommended, all eight are his close relatives.

Yes, all eight. This isn’t just a case of influence, This is a blatant, brazen abuse of power. It is corruption in daylight, unapologetic, unchecked, and completely unaccountable. And tragically, it isn’t new. This is what Nizam Ud-Din Bhat has always stood for; nepotism, favoritism, and placing his relatives above the rights of hardworking and qualified youth, he added.

Highlighting the broader implications, Majid warned that such unchecked practices not only rob deserving candidates of their future but also corrode public faith in democratic systems. “If public jobs are to be decided in drawing rooms rather than examination halls, then what hope do our hardworking, meritorious youth have?” he asked.

He asserted that, if this blatant mockery of justice is not questioned, condemned, and corrected, then the future of the youth of Bandipora will no longer be decided in examination halls, but in the drawing room of the MLA, with pens in their hands and no ethics in their hearts. This is exactly what MLA Bandipora is doing. He is playing with the future of our youth. And he must be held accountable.

Majid appealed to the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha, to intervene and take immediate, decisive action. “I urge the LG administration to initiate a thorough inquiry into all such illegal backdoor appointments, particularly those made under the previous PDP regime and in the current dispensation through MLA interference. All appointments lacking transparency and competitive selection must be annulled without delay,” he asserted.

Majid further said that such actions insult the dignity and aspirations of thousands of educated youth struggling with unemployment in Jammu and Kashmir. “They have nothing but merit and hope to depend on. Allowing such illegal practices to go unchecked will only deepen despair, resentment, and alienation among the youth.”

Calling for immediate institutional reform and accountability, Majid reiterated that “no one, no matter how powerful, should be allowed to hijack the future of our children. The future of an entire generation cannot, must not, be sacrificed at the altar of MLA Bandipora’s entitlement and nepotism. The youth of Bandipora, deserve better. They deserve fairness. They deserve justice. They deserve the right to compete, he added further.