WAJAHAT SHABIR
SRINAGAR: The recent cabinet reshuffle has triggered discontent within the ruling National Conference (NC), with 18 legislators, including 17 party MLAs and one Independent legislator, holding a crucial meeting in Srinagar on Friday to discuss their response to the recent expansion of the Council of Ministers.
Highly placed sources told that the meeting was held at the residence of MLA Lolab, Qaysar Jamshaid Lone, at Humhama. The meeting lasted nearly three to four hours, during which the legislators deliberated on the cabinet reshuffle and discussed their future course of action. Attendees included Mubarak Gul, MLA Abdul Majeed Larmi, Nazir Gurezi MLA Larvi and Farooq Shah, besides other legislators. Sources said the legislators expressed dissatisfaction over the manner in which the cabinet expansion was carried out and discussed a possible strategy to press their demands before the party leadership.
According to sources, there was a consensus among the legislators that the four ministers who took oath when the Omar Abdullah-led government was formed on October 16, 2024, should make way for new faces, having completed two years in office.
“They have completed two years in office and should now be replaced by new faces,” sources said. Meanwhile, in a related organisational development, National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah has ordered that Haji Ali Mohammad Sagar shall continue to function as the General Secretary of the party until further orders.
An order issued by Dr Farooq Abdullah reaffirmed Sagar’s continuation in the key organisational position, directing him to continue discharging his responsibilities until further directions. The meeting assumes significance as discontent had already surfaced within the ruling party following the recent cabinet reshuffle. As many as 11 MLAs supporting the ruling alliance, most of them belonging to the National Conference, had stayed away from the oath-taking ceremony of four newly inducted ministers on Tuesday.
Sources said some legislators who had also skipped the swearing-in ceremony could not attend Friday’s meeting due to prior engagements, indicating that the number of legislators unhappy with the reshuffle could be higher. The developments come amid questions within the party over the composition of the Council of Ministers and the role of legislators in organisational and government-level decisions.
