Sanjay Pandita
Early Times Report
Jammu, Oct 7: The long-awaited cabinet expansion in Jammu and Kashmir may finally be close, but one question still hangs over it: will coalition partner Congress be part of the new Council of Ministers?
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today hinted that a reshuffle and expansion would follow soon after the GST Council meeting in New Delhi. Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, he said he had meant to complete the exercise in the current period, but the just-concluded Autumn Session of the J&K Legislative Assembly pushed it back.
"I had said that the session has just been completed. I would have done it in these days," he said.
His Delhi commitment, however, comes first. "But tomorrow there is a GST Council meeting in Delhi. We will complete it, and then we will consult with Mr. Farooq," Omar said, indicating that National Conference president Farooq Abdullah will be consulted once he is back from the capital.
Sources said a rejig of portfolios among the existing ministers is also likely alongside the expansion.
The NC and Congress fought the Assembly elections as pre-poll allies, yet the Congress has no representation in the Council of Ministers. In the 90-member House, the NC has 41 MLAs and the Congress six. CPM's lone MLA, M.Y. Tarigami, and five Independents back the NC, with the majority mark at 46.
Under constitutional provisions, the Centre and the states can have ministers up to 15 per cent of the strength of the Lok Sabha or the respective Assembly. For the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the cap is 10 per cent of the Asse A rejig of portfolios among the existing ministers is also likely alongside the expansion.
The NC and Congress fought the Assembly elections as pre-poll allies, yet the Congress has no representation in the Council of Ministers.
In the 90-member House, the NC has 41 MLAs and the Congress six. Tarigami, and five Independents back the NC, with the majority mark at 46.
With a 90-member House the government can have at most nine ministers, including the Chief Minister.
The Council currently has the Chief Minister and five ministers, leaving three vacancies unless some incumbents are dropped.
From the Kashmir division, besides Omar, are Sakeena Itoo (Health and Medical Education, Social Welfare) and Javid Dar (Agriculture, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj). The Jammu division is represented by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, Javed Rana (PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, Forest) and Satish Sharma (Transport, Sports). Sharma, an Independent MLA from Chhamb, is the only non-NC member; the other five ministers belong to the National Conference.
The five ministers are stretched across three to four departments each, while Omar himself holds several, including Finance, Revenue, Housing and Urban Development, Tourism and General Administration.
"If none of the current ministers are dropped, Omar can induct a maximum of three ministers, taking the strength of the Council to nine," sources said, adding that whether Congress gets a berth remains to be seen.
Regional balance will weigh on the selection. Of the NC's 41 MLAs, only seven are from the Jammu division: two each from Ramban, Poonch and Rajouri, and one from Reasi. The other 34 are from Kashmir. Among the Congress's six MLAs, five are from Kashmir and one from Jammu.
Four Independent MLAs from the Jammu division also back the NC: Pyare Lal Sharma (Inderwal), Rameshwar Singh (Bani), Choudhary Akram (Surankote) and Muzaffar Khan (Thannamandi). |
