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| Cabinet expansion opens Pandora’s box | | | Jammu, August 30:-Much awaited cabinet expansion carried out by Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Tuesday seems to have opened a lid of Pandora’s Box. A large number of Congress legislators who were left out during the expansion are annoyed as they feel they have been neglected by the party.
Significantly, Dr Manohar Lal, an MLA from Billawar and an associate member of the Congress had already disassociated himself from the Congress and withdrew his support to the party in protest.
Likewise Panthers party, Peoples democratic forum are also rethinking over the issue of extending their support to the coalition government as they feel that smaller parties were given raw deal by the Chief Minister GhulamNabi Azad during the first round of expansion.
A large section of people in Jammu district are also dismayed as they feel that their areas were not given due representation in the council of ministers.
During Tuesday’s cabinet expansion, no Cabinet Minister has been taken from three out of six districts of Jammu region including Kathua, Poonch and Rajouri.
When Mufti Mohd.Sayeed headed the coalition Government there were seven congress legislators from the Jammu district in the council of ministers and the remaining one,Mr Tara Chand was speaker of the Assembly.
0ut of seven ministers four held the cabinet rank and they were Mr Mangat Ram Sharma,Deputy Chief Minister,Mr Madan Lal Sharma,Ms Suman Bhagat and Mr Mulla Ram. Three Congress legislators were appointed minister of state.
With Mr Majit Singh of PDP and Mr Yashpal Kundal of the Panthers Party both ministers of state, 10 legislators out of 13 from Jammu district were given representation in the council of ministers,including the speaker of the Assembly,.And congress supporters,who had been dismayed when Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad formed the council of ministers on November 2,2005,were hopeful that the Jammu district,which had emerged the backbone of the ruling coalition, would be given a better deal.
They were highly dejected when in Tuesday’s expansion no new face from the Jammu district was given berth in the council of ministers,except that the less deserving Mr Gulchain Singh Charak was elevated to the cabinet rank.
One congress legislator told Kashmir Independent Press that “ congress party will have to think twice before going for Assembly polls as it might face difficulties in repeating its 2002 performance.”He said “in fact by ignoring those congress legislators who enjoyed voters support in the Jammu district the Chief Minister had cleared the decks for the BJP to stage a comeback in the next Assembly poll.”
And those left out have no hopes for finding a place in the council of ministers because Mr Azad can accommodate only two legislators in the 22-member council of ministers.
Another issue that Mr Azad has left people guessing was the equation he had with the Panthers Party because during the Mufti’s time two JKPP MLAs were members of the council of ministers and this time not a single legislator from the party has been included. Inside reports said that Mr Azad was willing to induct one legislator from the Panthers Party in the cabinet but when Prof. Bhim Singh, chairman of the party, wanted a cabinet post the Chief Minister was forced to start rethinking because he preferred Mr Harsh Dev Singh, whose performance as Education Minister had been appreciated by Mr Azad |
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