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| Altaf Bukhari's taking over as FM yet again proves that politics makes strange bed fellows | | | Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Mar 14: There is an old saying that politics makes strange bed fellows and this saying once again got proved on Tuesday (March 13) when Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari was given the additional charge of finance ministry portfolio in the state.
On April 1, 2016 when Mehbooba Mufti became the chief minister, Altaf Bukhari was dropped from the cabinet and he got relegated to a mere legislator in the state. This was despite the fact that Altaf Bukhari was the works minister in the government headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
However, less than two years down the line this legislator has assumed centre stage as far as Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) government in the state is concerned. The ouster of Haseeb Ahmad Drabu as finance minister meant that Altaf Bukhari becomes his successor.
In 2016, Altaf Bukhari who represents Amira Kadal in the legislative assembly was made the Minister for Education and very few people hailed the move. His working in the education sector was hailed by the legislators belonging to both the coalition parties and the opposition parties in the recently concluded budget session. Political analysts believe that the handing over of finance ministry to the education minister is a calculated move by the chief minister as she wants to keep the flock together. Mehbooba does not want the ouster of Drabu to snowball into a major controversy and crisis more so at a time when political situation is not that conducive in Kashmir.
"Following the ouster of former finance minister the ideal choice for Mehbooba to get the finance ministry in the state was Abdul Rehman Veeri. However, as Veeri is already burdened by many ministries and departments the chief minister was left with no option, but to hand over the finance ministry to Altaf Bukhari," said PDP sources.
The sources said that Mehbooba tried her best to convince the party's Lok Sabha member and senior party man, Muzaffar Hussain Beigh to return to state politics and take over the charge of finance minister. Since Beigh did not get motivated to take over the ministry, Altaf Bukhari turned out to be best choice for the finance ministry.
'The chief minister would groom her brother Tassaduq Hussain Mufti in the coming times and one cannot rule over the possibility of Tassaduq holding an important portfolio like finance ministry, even though it would not be easy. Altaf Bukhari has done well with the portfolios allocated to him so far and this gave him the edge," said sources.
Sources said the resentment shown by some of the party ministers and legislators due to the delay in forming the government in 2016 after the demise of Mufti Sayeed also led to a situation where the chief minister does not believe many of her colleagues in the party. In addition the under-performance of most of the PDP ministers in the government also clinched the deal for Altaf Bukhari. |
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