Saroj Razdan
Jammu: Two months on, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s Advisor Nasir Aslam Wani is yet to formally get cabinet status even as he has been ‘delegated’ all the powers unofficially akin to those in the Council. Wani attends all important meetings besides having participated in 3 cabinet meetings held so far by NC led government in the UT.
This is stated to be one of few vital matters on which friction is seen between government and LG office, sources said. Though his initial appointment came as Advisor a month ago, CM apparently wants more powers to be given to him which can only come from LG’s office.
While the government has sent a formal proposal to this effect or not, LG Manoj Sinha is reported to have raised some technical points.LG Sinha is said to have made this clear that Wani can get cabinet rank only if the government is willing to give up one seat in the Council of ministers already allocated. However, this has added dilemma of Chief Minister as he is not in a position to effect any such accommodating change as it will impact the entire composition of Council in terms of size and present allocations.
As for his working mode, Aslam Wani is more than active in comparison to other members of the cabinet ,enjoys all powers given to latter and is privy to all decisions taken at the highest level of Omar led government. It is only an issue of augmented rank for Wani and not seeking ministerial berth, said a senior politician as he has been attending cabinet meetings and presence/participation in forums where only ministers can attend, he explained.
It goes without saying Nasir Wani is most important man in the NC-Congress government, no matter he is working in capacity of CM’s Advisor-an appointment made within hours of oath taking ceremony. That he is a close confidante of Omar Abdullah is no secret which explains his key role in important decision making matters irrespective of his position as Advisor.
Wani also holds key political position in the party as Provinical President which is why he has been pushing political agendas of NC in a bold way like few days back when he sought reinstatement of December 5 as public holiday in J&K by the LG office. While CM may not be in a mood to take up direct cudgels with LG Manoj Sinha, his Advisor Wani has already begun, though in a soft pedaling manner.
