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| Qazi caught in Sonia-Mehbooba-Azad triangle | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | Sep 12
Qazi Mohd.Afzal, who has resigned from the cabinet after losing the Forest portfolio, continues to be encaged in a triangle on whose angles stand Sonia Gandhi, Mehbooba Mufti and Ghulam Nabi Azad. Initially it was a tussle between the Chief Minister and the PDP leadership but when the PDP Chief, Mehbooba Mufti,found that Ghulam Nabi Azad was in no mood to restore the forest portfolio to the Qazi,the only condition laid by the PDP leadership for the Minister to rejoin the cabinet,she knocked the door of Sonia Gandhi.
With both Mufti Mohd.Sayeed and his daughter having gone to the United States the issue of Qazi Afzal rejoining the cabinet has been left to Sonia Gandhi to settle. The Chief Minister, according to sources close to him, would have restored the Forest portfolio to the Qazi had not he (Qazi) been guided to reply the Chief Minister’s letter in which the Qazi had made certain disclosures which had created an embarrassing situation for Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Sources said that Azad has already conveyed to Gandhi that his position and that of the Congress could further face embarrassment. He has informed the AICC President that he would restore the forest portfolio to Qazi Mohd.Afzal soon after he (Chief Minister) cleared the department of many a cobwebs. However, the PDP leadership does not question Azad’s resolve to remove the mess the Forest Department and Corporation but that could be done even if the portfolio was in the hands of Qazi Mohd.Afzal.Also the officer,(Managing Director of the Forest Corporation) who was held guilty of having committed several irregularities, has been removed.
Meanwhile the CPIM leader, MY .Tarigami has called for a CBI probe in the working of the Forest Corporation so that whatever charges were leveled by Qazi Afzal regarding pressure mounted on him for allowing a Delhi based business house to set up a housing colony and an amusement park on the forest land which the Minister had refused. Tarigami wanted that the truth should come out so that remedial measures were taken in hand.
Till the time Sonia Gandhi ‘s intervention does some miracle and Qazi Afzal gets back the forest portfolio the legislator from ganderbal, who had humbled National Conference President, Omar Abdullah, in 2002 Assembly poll will have to live without a ministerial post. That too when he has announced that he would go by the directions of the PDP leadership. He said that since he was a disciplined soldier of the PDP he will not take any step without consulting the PDP leadership
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