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| Sajad Lone has the last laugh, BJP-PDP succumb | | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, May 22: Finally Sajad Gani Lone has the last laugh as the Peoples Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janta Party alliance virtually surrendered to his demand of getting "better" ministerial berth.
While the coalition government including Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh had declined to accept his resignation, the twin parties ended up giving him more ministerial teeth to chew. Sajad is scheduled to get on Monday, the Science and Technology ministry in addition to his previous assignment of Social Welfare.
Sources said Lone had conveyed to the BJP that he would sit on the opposition bench in the upcoming Assembly session to take the government head on. This move turned the tables.
It was reliably learnt that Lone had threatened to "strip" the coalition government as an opposition bencher. Sources said Lone, who is MLA Handwara, had used Kashmiri phrase "Nakwair Dagakh(Will Blow them off)", which somehow leaked to the BJP leadership in New Delhi. "Taking serious note of his warning, the BJP explained to PDP, the far-reaching consequences of delay in meeting Lone's demands," the sources said.
Sources said there was so much of "psychological pressure of getting exposed" that some of the ministers from PDP who had been adverse to Lone, finally ended up persuading the Chief Minister to meet his demands lest he opens any "Pandora's box."
"He (Sajad Lone) played a psychological war. Though he didn't utter a word on the topic of his resignation since the day he tendered it, his actions spoke louder than words and the result is that the mighty party like BJP came to his knees," said his workers while celebrating the "maha victory".
Lone, who was upset with the Social Welfare ministry given to him by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti led government, had resigned from the chair, a day after he was sworn-in onApril 4. He was equally unhappy in the first innings, when this post graduate from Cardiff University, was given the Animal Husbandry ministry.
In the second innings, Lone who had been "eyeing to get Housing ministry" took the Social Welfare Ministry portfolio as "insult to injury" and didn't attend his office even for a single day. He instantly resigned.
But a week later, five people were killed in his native Kupwara. He subsequently accompanied his cabinet colleagues including Mehbooa and Nirmal Singh for a crucial meeting in the frontier district. A few days later, the government removed three major bunkers from the town.
Lone took the bunker removal his personal achievement, which rose him to cloud nine. Infact when bunkers were removed on April 21, the day coincided with Prime Minister's Narendra Modi's visit to Jammu. But unlike Modi's previous visits when Sajad would share dais with the visiting dignitary, the MLA held a parallel rally in Handwara to celebrate removal of bunkers.
Even though some of the ministers from the PDP, who have been his school mates were persuading him reconsider his decision on resignation, Lone till a few days ago threatened to sit on the opposition benches to "teach them a lesson".
After his maiden victory 2014 Assembly elections, Lone emerged as prospective BJP-ally when he called on Prime Minister Narender Modi and subsequently told media that he had discovered a "BadaBhai" in Modi, who seems to have finally proved the "big brother." |
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