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| Return to State Cabinet, uphill task for Saroori | | R&B contracts story reaches Sonia | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
JAMMU, Sept 9: Despite vociferous media campaign, ex-Roads and Buildings (R&B) Minister Ghulam Mohammed Saroori is facing an uphill task as far as return to the State Cabinet is concerned.
Saroori was asked to resign on August 26, 2010 after an imposter was found appearing in the medical entrance examination in place of his daughter. Cleared by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the infamous 'MBBS impersonation scam' involving his daughter, sources said that Saroori's friends in New Delhi especially Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad, have intensified efforts to reach out to Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to seek her assent to the proposal for ex-R&B minister's return to the state cabinet.
Congress headquarters in Jammu has begun debating that Azad wants Saroori to be re-inducted in the state cabinet since CBI has cleared him of the charges leveled against him. However, the induction is unlikely to be a smooth affair for two reasons. Of the two, one is that that the Congress President's close aide Ahmed Patel has brought Saroori's R&B muddle to the notice of Sonia Gandhi, said the sources.
Voluminous information provided by Roads and Buildings Department to an RTI activist about the allotment of roads contracts without tenders by Ghulam Mohammed Saroori during his tenure as R&B Minister has reached UPA Chairperson's office, sources disclosed. They added that the information contains names of the contractors who got the tenders from the then R&B minister.
Sources did not hesitate in saying that the contractors, according to the detailed report, attached with the information, are close friends and workers of Ghulam Mohammed Saroori as well as ex-Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. "A decision is unlikely to come soon over the fate of Saroori since his ouster was due to impersonation issue but much more has reached here during the last two year," said a source in New Delhi.
The other reason is purely political. All the five MLAs from erstwhile Doda constituency owe allegiance to Azad group. Apart from Saroori, the other strong contenders of cabinet berth are non-controversial MLA Doda Majid Wani and ex-Power Minister Mohammed Sharief Niaz. While Wani has already served as MOS in erstwhile Cong-PDP coalition government, Niaz is close relative of Ghulam Nabi Azad.
MLA Ramban Ashok Kumar and MLA Banihal Viqar Rasool are also considered close to Ghulam Nabi Azad. If Azad backs Saroori, sources said that other four are likely to jump across the line. The move would be catastrophic for Ghulam Nabi Azad as he has to keep all five MLAs in his flock for his return to state politics, said the sources. Annoying Niaz would mean intricate days in Bhaderwah constituency.
Similarly, Azad cannot afford to disappoint Wani. Sources said that if Saroori's case goes topsy-turvy, Wani is likely to make it to the state cabinet. He also enjoys the confidence of majority of Congress MLAs from both Jammu and Srinagar. It is now for Azad to see how he manages the situation, asserted the sources.
Those who know Azad do not hesitate in saying that he could even spring surprise by forwarding names of an MLA from Doda and another from Ramban District. By taking a Scheduled Caste MLA, Azad is killing two birds with one stone- to thwart resentment of aspirants from his home district and to send a word to Saroori about his helplessness in having him re-inducted.
Come what may, Saroori is likely to face rough weather in making back to the state cabinet. It needs to be mentioned here that the two portfolios - public works department and school education - were allocated to Congress ministers when the coalition government came to power three years ago.
But both portfolios are now under Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who belongs to National Conference. In 2010, the public works department portfolio was taken over by Abdullah following the sacking of Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, whose daughter was alleged to have used an impersonator in a medical entrance test.
School education minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed was divested of his portfolio after a police inquiry on the orders of Abdullah. It was found that his son had allegedly used unfair means to pass Class 10 in 2009.
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