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| Cabinet expansion reports, if reality, may lead to fresh problems | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | Dec 2
Whether it is again a wolf cry by the shepherd or the wolf is really spotted, yet the politicians whose names are circulated by the media to be inducted in the expansion of Azad ministry, speculated umpteenth time, but ultimately turning out only to be kite flying by the media, are not inclined to put credence on the reports carried once again about the cabinet expansion on cards. The reports in the media carried once again about "cabinet expansion now only a matter of days", with Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad writing to the former Chief Minister and PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed for recommending a person from their party to be inducted into the cabinet, to fill the PDP quota, which the media is at pains to convince that their reporting this time about imminence of cabinet expansion a reality. If it is really so, one thing is certain that the name of former Deputy Chief Minister, in Azad government, Muzaffar Husain Baig has already been decided and approved both by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as well as Ghulam Nabi Azad and also endorsed by the Central High Command of the Congress to be inducted into the cabinet from PDP's quota and there is every probability of his being tipped as the Deputy Chief Minister, though for a short period of ten months left for the next assembly elections to be held.
While the induction of PDP leader Muzaffar Husain Baig into the Azad cabinet may strength the government and prove as an exercise to whitewash the past differences between the two main coalition partners and chalking out a new course of reconciliation, yet it is feared to create problems for the PDP, who shall have to ignore the claim of another tall leader and founder member of the party, Ghulam Hassan Mir, a former minister in Mufti government, who claims to be senior in the party hierarchy as well as in the ruling order, having remained cabinet minister earlier in G M Shah government. Whether Mir, who is a long time political rival of Baig and whose disgruntlement in the PDP has its origin with Muzaffar Husain Baig being given preference over him by the party leadership, precisely father and daughter duo, will be reconciled with his being again ignored, is to be seen. This can lead to Mir finally opting out of the party and joining the third front, the reports about coming up of which is already under circulation. Ghulam Hassan Mir who had declined to join as cabinet minister in Azad government formed in November 2005, only because Baig was to be designated as Deputy Chief Minister and since then had been distancing himself from the PDP, throwing ample hits of his leaving the party and forming his own group and who had also fielded a rebel candidate against the official PDP candidate, the brother of Muzaffar Husain Baig in a by election to the state assembly in Bandipura constituency, in which the latter was defeated, had come close to the party once again only after Baig had fallen from the grace of the father and daughter duo.
Another problem confronting the PDP, in event of Baig being re-inducted into the Azad cabinet, would be about the portfolios to be allotted to Baig. The trouble had risen earlier after Ghulam Nabi Azad, ignoring the expressed desired of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and his daughter Mehbooba had again allotted the portfolios of finance, planning and law to Baig. Ghulam Nabi Azad on his part would like to allot these portfolios again to Baig since Tariq Hammid Qarra, the new man Friday of Muftis has not proved as a success as Minister for Finance and Planning. He has been also the main PDP cabinet minister who has been always confronting the Chief Minister and asserting on behalf of his party, which has widened the cleavage between the Congress and the PDP. Qarra's proposal for advancing the budget session of state assembly and adopting the budget proposals two months ahead of the earlier schedule as well as budget passage in the centre and other states of the country, has not proved a successful exercise. However if Muftis now gets reconcile to Qarra being shifted to some other portfolios and finance and planning allotted to Baig, Qarra will have the reason to entertain the grouse of his loyalty to the Muftis not being rewarded, but costing him heavily. Then there is also the problem of forest portfolio, of which PDP minister Qazi Mohammad Afzal was divested, giving rise to a sharp controversy. The same has become a point of prestige between the Chief Minister and the PDP patron and President. Who withdraws from their stranding position is to be seen?
The fresh problems to be created with the cabinet expansion is not confined to the PDP. In the Congress as well it will need to heart burning by many aspirants who would not be accommodated in filling three vacancies from the party quota to be inducted in the cabinet. |
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