Srinagar: After two years in office, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today reshuffled his council of ministers, dropping one existing minister (an independent one) and inducting four new ministers.
Now, the J&K government has all nine ministers, including the CM, as prescribed by UT regulations.
However, the cabinet reset has triggered diverse reactions from NC MLA’s with an MLA Larmi crying publicly for not being included, very senior leader. Mubarak Gul speaking out and Nazir Gurezi skipping the oath taking ceremony.
Thus, NC’s internal discontent spills out in public
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expanded his council of ministers on Tuesday with the induction of four new faces from the Kashmir valley, triggering internal party discontent and protests, even as the opposition BJP hit out at the ruling alliance over “regional and cultural imbalance”.
The four National Conference (NC) leaders, veteran politician Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mir Saifullah, Shameema Firdous, and Altaf Ahmad Wani (Kalloo), were administered the oath of office by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha at the Lok Bhawan here.
With all four inductees hailing from Kashmir, the expansion has shifted the balance of the cabinet in the two-year-old government heavily towards the valley. Seven ministers in the now 9-member council hail from Kashmir, while Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Chaudhary and Javaid Rana remain the only two representatives from the Jammu region in the new cabinet.
Ahead of the expansion, all ministers had formally submitted their resignations to the Chief Minister to facilitate the reshuffle. The maximum allowed strength of the J&K council of ministers is nine, adhering to the statutory 10 percent limit of the 90-member Assembly in the union territory.
National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah said “a very good cabinet change has taken place. They (ministers) will work and try to ease the difficulties and problems of the people”.
The reshuffle sparked immediate anger among supporters of seven-time NC MLA from Eidgah, Mubarak Gul, who staged a noisy protest outside the party headquarters at Nawa-e-Subah after his name was omitted from the cabinet list. Agitated workers raised slogans against the decision, calling it a grave injustice to a leader with 40 years of service.
Before the swearing-in ceremony, Gul expressed his dismay to reporters, saying, “I will speak at an appropriate time. I have attended so many oath ceremonies and every time I have been dropped. You can say I have been dropped again.”
Gul’s exclusion also triggered protests by his supporters, who later gathered at the party headquarters and termed the decision an ‘injustice’ to the veteran legislator.
The protesters said Gul had devoted his entire life to the National Conference and had made significant sacrifices for the party. They argued that a senior leader with his political experience and long association with the organization deserved a place in the cabinet.
MLA Anantnag West, Abdul Majeed Bhat Larmi, another legislator who was not inducted, openly expressed his disappointment, saying he believed he deserved a ministerial berth.
“Who said I was shedding tears of joy? My heart was crying because I was dropped. I deserved a cabinet berth,” Larmi said.
Larmi said the decision had hurt him because of the sacrifices he had made for the party and the expectations he had built around his possible induction.
“What happened to me was something I had never expected. I had hoped that I would secure a cabinet berth, but that did not happen. Nevertheless, I am grateful to the party leadership and will continue working for my party and the people,” he said.
Larmi also backed Gul’s claim to a place in the government, describing the seven-time MLA as a deserving candidate whose presence in the cabinet would have been important.
He, however, said Gul’s appointment as the party’s general secretary was a positive development.
In contrast to the disappointment expressed by the left-out legislators, the newly inducted ministers thanked National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for giving them an opportunity to serve in the government.
Mir Saifullah said he was grateful to Allah and the party leadership for the responsibility entrusted to him.
“I am thankful to Dr. Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah for placing their trust in me. I will try my best to live up to their expectations and work for the development of Jammu and Kashmir and the progress of my party,” he said.
Asked about reports of disappointment among party legislators who had not been accommodated in the cabinet, Saifullah declined to comment on their individual reactions, saying he preferred to speak about his own responsibilities.
“I will work with complete honesty for the development of Jammu and Kashmir. I will raise issues, discuss them, and try to find solutions,” he said.
MLA Pahalgam, Altaf Ahmad Wani, who was inducted into the cabinet for the first time, also thanked the Abdullahs for reposing faith in him.
He said every party member was loyal to the National Conference and rejected the suggestion that there were disloyal members within its ranks.
Wani said the ministers would work hard to serve the people and address their concerns.
“We will leave no stone unturned. We will do everything possible for the welfare of the people, work day and night, and remain accessible to them,” he said.
Shamima Firdous said she was happy to have been inducted into the cabinet but acknowledged that the new position came with a major responsibility.
“I am very happy, but the party has entrusted me with a big responsibility that I have to fulfill. I am grateful to Dr. Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah for placing their trust in me. I will try to live up to the expectations of the party leadership and the people and continue working for their welfare,” she said.
The contrasting reactions following the expansion highlighted the different emotions within the ruling party, as the newly inducted ministers prepared to take on their responsibilities while some excluded legislators and their supporters questioned the decision to leave them out.
The expansion also drew sharp criticism from the BJP as the Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma accused the Omar Abdullah-led government of creating a regional divide.
“This is the first time that there is a regional and cultural imbalance,” Sharma told reporters. “Governments have to take every community, region, and area along. Today, that was nowhere to be seen.”
Meanwhile, the Congress, an ally of the ruling coalition, opted to remain outside the government. JKPCC president Tariq Hamid Karra reaffirmed his party’s stance, stating that the Congress will not join the council of ministers until statehood is fully restored to Jammu and Kashmir.
Among the new inductees, Sagar took his oath in Urdu. Saifullah, Wani and Firdous, took their oath in English.
Satish Sharma, the Independent MLA from Chhamb in the Jammu region, who was a surprise inclusion when the Omar Abdullah government was sworn in 2024, has been dropped from the council as the ruling National Conference sought to strengthen its core base in the Kashmir Valley, giving representation to the districts of Srinagar, Anantnag and Kupwara.
Sagar (73), a former minister and seven-time MLA, was first elected to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly from Batamaloo seat here in 1983. He retained the seat in 1987. Later, he shifted to Khanyar, which he won in 1996.
Sagar has never lost an Assembly election.
Wani (74) represents the Pahalgam Assembly constituency, which he won in 2014 and retained in 2024. Despite losing the 2008 Assembly elections to the PDP candidate by more than 10,000 votes, the party leadership sent Wani to the Legislative Council in 2009.
Firdous (60) was elected from the Habbakadal constituency here for the third time in 2024. She is also president of the party’s women’s wing and is the second woman in the Abdullah-led Council of Ministers after Itoo.
The Congress, an ally of the government, has distanced itself from the cabinet and stuck to its stand of not joining the Council of Ministers until the statehood is restored.
The oath-taking ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, senior alliance leaders, and opposition MLAs from both the BJP and PDP. Satish Sharma remained absent from the swearing-in ceremony. (With additional inputs from PTI)
LG administers oath of office and secrecy to the newly appointed ministers
The Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, administered the oath of office and secrecy to the newly inducted Ministers of the Jammu & Kashmir Council of Ministers at a swearing-in ceremony held at Lok Bhavan on Tuesday. The Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, was also present on the occasion.
LG administered the oath to MLAs Ali Mohammad Sagar, Altaf Ahmad Wani, Shamim Firdous, and Saifullah Mir as ministers.
The ceremony was attended by Speaker, J&K Legislative Assembly Abdul Rahim Rather, JKNC President, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary, Ministers Sakeena Masood Itoo, Javed Ahmed Rana, and Javid Ahmad Dar, Member of Parliament Gurvinder Singh Oberoi, along with several dignitaries and senior officials.
The proceedings of the ceremony were conducted by the Principal Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor, Govind Jaiswal.
