SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday rebutted Union Minister J P Nadda’s remarks on the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) paper leak case, stating that the recruitment scandal took place in 2022 when the Union Territory was under the administrative control of the Lieutenant Governor, not a National Conference-Congress government.
You are absolutely correct about the SSB paper leak in J&K @JPNadda ji but you have got the date wrong. It was 2022. The government wasn’t of NC & Congress. It was a government headed by Lt. Governor but thank you for reminding everyone of this failure. It involved these… https://t.co/E8WHAJ0qCD pic.twitter.com/PsdaiJ2Uzx
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 23, 2026
Responding to Nadda’s comments made during a press conference on Wednesday, Omar Abdullah said the Union Health Minister had correctly referred to the JKSSB paper leak but had misstated the political context surrounding the incident.
In a post on X, the Chief Minister wrote: “You are absolutely correct about the SSB paper leak in J&K @JPNadda ji but you have got the date wrong. It was 2022.”
He added, “The government wasn’t of NC and Congress. It was a government headed by Lt. Governor but thank you for reminding everyone of this failure. It involved these observations and orders of the JK High Court.”
Abdullah also shared an extract from a Jammu and Kashmir High Court order that directed the then Lieutenant Governor-led administration to constitute a high-powered committee, headed by a retired judge, to investigate what the court described as “brazen irregularities” in the functioning of the JKSSB.
Questioning the outcome of that exercise, the Chief Minister said, “We have no idea what happened to the High Level Committee or its report. Perhaps you can share that with us in your next press conference.”
The JKSSB cancelled recruitment examinations for the posts of sub-inspectors, junior engineers and finance accounts assistants in 2022 following widespread allegations of paper leaks and corruption.
The recruitment process had also come under criticism after the administration engaged Mumbai-based Aptech Limited to conduct computer-based examinations despite the company having been blacklisted by several state governments over alleged examination-related malpractices.
