Omar Abdullah drops sports minister Satish Sharma as J&K Cabinet grows to nine
Jammu and Kashmir's reshuffle brings in four National Conference MLAs and removes the independent who ran Sports and Technical Education, leaving that portfolio's future unclear.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expanded his Council of Ministers to its legal ceiling of nine on Tuesday. He added four National Conference MLAs and dropped independent legislator Satish Sharma, who held the Sports and Technical Education portfolio.
Sharma, who represents Chhamb in Jammu, was the one minister to leave the team. For young athletes, coaches and students in technical courses, the big question is who takes over his department. The reports on the swearing-in did not say how his portfolio will be reallocated, so that decision is still awaited.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath at Lok Bhawan in Srinagar. The new ministers are Ali Mohammad Sagar of Khanyar, a seven-time MLA who took his oath in Urdu, Mir Saifullah of Trehgam, Altaf Ahmad Wani of Pahalgam, and Shameema Firdous of Habba Kadal. Firdous, who heads the party's women's wing, is the second woman in the Cabinet after Sakina Itoo.
The numbers are simple. The Union Territory's rules cap the ministry at 10 per cent of the 90-member Assembly, which works out to nine. The Cabinet had six members, including the CM, and all of them resigned to clear the way for the reshuffle. The Congress, an alliance partner, stayed out, saying it will take no berths until full statehood is restored.
The new line-up tilts heavily toward the Valley. Seven of the nine ministers come from Kashmir. Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Chaudhary and Javaid Rana are the only two from the Jammu region. The BJP seized on this. Leader of the Opposition Sunil Sharma called it a "regional and cultural imbalance" and said governments must take every region along.
Trouble also brewed inside the NC. Six-time MLA and former Speaker Mubarak Gul said he had attended many oath ceremonies and been passed over every time. His supporters protested outside the party headquarters at Nawa-e-Subah. Party president Farooq Abdullah rushed there and named Gul the new general secretary, replacing Sagar. Senior legislator Abdul Majid Larmi admitted the decision hurt, saying his heart was "burning", though he accepted the leadership's call.
The list appeared to carry Farooq Abdullah's stamp, since none of Omar's close aides who had been tipped as frontrunners made it. NC leaders, including new minister Mir Saifullah, defended the picks as a matter of limited berths and party consensus, and described the party as a family. Farooq Abdullah called the change a positive step toward easing people's difficulties.
Source: Daily Pioneer