Omar Cabinet reshuffle next week
Cong not to join, Independents to be kept out, Gul to be Speaker
JAMMU, Oct 10 : Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is likely to expand his Cabinet next week in Srinagar with induction of five new Ministers and dropping two sitting Ministers taking strength of the Council of Ministry to nine, which is the maximum he can have.
The expansion comes close on the heels of completion of two years of Omar Government in the office.
The strength of the Council of Ministry in a Union Territory is capped at 10 percent of the strength of Assembly. J&K has 90-member Assembly and the Government can have maximum of nine Ministers including the Chief Minister.
Sources told the Excelsior that the Government has decided that no first-time legislator will be inducted in the Cabinet and weightage will be given to the senior leaders.
Five National Conference leaders who are likely to be inducted in the Council of Ministry include Abdul Rahim Rather, presently the Legislative Assembly Speaker, Ali Mohammad Sagar, Nazir Gurezi, Altaf Kalloo and Aijaz Jan.
Rather and Sagar are seven-time MLAs while Nazir Gurezi is fourth-time legislator, Kalloo and Jan are second-time MLAs. Rather represents Charar-e-Sharief and Sagar Khanyar while Gurezi is the legislator from remote Gurez Assembly segment. Kalloo represents Pahalgam and Jan Poonch.
Four of them are from Kashmir division while Jan represents Jammu region.
Two sitting Ministers are expected to be dropped to keep strength of the Ministry at nine.
Presently, besides the Chief Minister, there are five Ministers in the Cabinet. There are three Ministers each from Jammu and Kashmir divisions.
Rather is expected to quit as the Assembly Speaker ahead of the Cabinet expansion.
As per the sources, name of Mubarak Gul is under consideration for the post of Legislative Assembly Speaker in place of Rather. Gul has earlier also served as the Speaker and is among the senior-most legislators of the ruling National Conference.
“The National Conference leadership has decided not to take any Independent MLA in the Ministry,” the sources said, adding the Chief Minister has already taken resignations of all five Ministers.
Resignations of the two Ministers, who are to be dropped, will be forwarded to the Lieutenant Governor for acceptance.
The oath ceremony will be held in Srinagar. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha will administer oath of office and secrecy to the new Ministers.
Following induction of new Ministers, portfolios will also be reshuffled.
As far as the Congress is concerned, sources said the party has already made it clear that it will not be joining the Government till Jammu and Kashmir is granted Statehood. The Congress had contested 2024 Assembly elections in alliance with the National Conference but didn’t join the Government. It still supports the National Conference Government from outside.
This will be first reshuffle in the Council of Ministry of Omar Abdullah Government which will be completing two years in office on October 16.
Talks of reshuffle in the Council of Ministry of Omar Abdullah Government had been going on for past few months. Omar had, however, recently stated that the reshuffle will be carried out after the GST Council meeting, which was held yesterday in New Delhi.(KNT)
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