In a significant reshuffle within his Council of Ministers, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has appointed 10 legislators from the National Conference (NC) and Congress parties as Ministers, while also dismissing seven—six from NC and one from Congress—in the state’s winter capital. The oath of office was administered by Governor Narender Nath Vohra to NC’s Mohammad Akbar Lone, who was named Cabinet Minister during a ceremony at Raj Bhawan at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Prior to this, Lone resigned as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly after nearly four years in the position.
Sources informed The Hindu that Deputy Speaker Mohammad Sartaj Madni, belonging to the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), will continue as Speaker until a new election is held at the start of the budget session in late February. NC’s senior legislator Mubarak Gul is expected to be appointed as the new Speaker.
The Ministers who took the oath alongside Lone include NC’s Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan, Ajay Sadhotra, Mir Saifullah, Nazir Ahmed Khan Gurezi, Feroz Ahmed Khan, and Sajad Ahmed Kichloo. Sadhotra serves as an NC Member in the Legislative Council, while the others are members of the Legislative Assembly.
Before the swearing-in, the Governor accepted resignations from several NC Cabinet Ministers, including Abdul Gani Malik, Qamar Ali Akhoon, and Aga Syed Ruhullah, along with junior Ministers Nasir Aslam Wani and Javed Ahmed Dar. R.S. Chib, Minister of Medical Education, is the only Congress Minister whose resignation was accepted by the Governor after being forwarded by the Chief Minister.
In addition to the seven new faces from NC, three Congress MLAs were also inducted as Ministers: former Ministers Ghulam Ahmed Mir and Abdul Majid Wani, alongside first-time MLA Weqar Rasool Wani from Banihal. The Council of Ministers now comprises 25 members, reaching the maximum allowed cap of 25 Ministers, which is 20 percent of the combined strength of the bicameral legislature, which includes 89 MLAs and 36 MLCs.
Following the reshuffle, Abdullah, who also serves as NC’s Working President, has appointed his Political Adviser Devender Singh Rana as the party’s Provincial President for Jammu and the outgoing Minister of State for Home, Nasir Aslam Wani, as Provincial President for Kashmir. Various organizational changes were also implemented to accommodate the Ministers removed from government roles ahead of the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in 2014.
Sources from the Chief Minister’s Secretariat indicated that Abdullah would allocate portfolios to the newly appointed Ministers shortly after the reshuffle. However, senior Ministers such as Abdul Rahim Rather (Finance), Mian Altaf Ahmed (Forest), and Tara Chand (Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Housing and Urban Development) are likely to retain their existing roles. Decisions regarding the portfolios for Congress Ministers are being coordinated by J&K Pradesh Congress Committee chief, Prof Saif-ud-din Soz, in consultation with AICC General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad and party leadership in New Delhi. Congress and NC previously allocated portfolios at the formation of the coalition government in January 2009. Additionally, independent MLA Ghulam Hassan Mir, considered an ‘associate member’ of Congress, continues to serve as a Minister in Abdullah’s Cabinet.
Published – January 15, 2013 05:45 pm IST
