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StatesJammu and Kashmir

NC legislators meet in Srinagar, demand a fresh reshuffle of Omar Abdullah's cabinet

Three days after four new ministers were sworn in, about 17 National Conference MLAs and an Independent passed a resolution against 'coterie culture' and set the party leadership a 15-day deadline.

From the editorial desk · SrinagarPublished
The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly building in Srinagar (file photo)
The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly building in Srinagar (file photo)Photo: Ramchandra9 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Key points

  1. About 17 NC MLAs and one Independent met in Srinagar and demanded a cabinet reshuffle.
  2. They gave Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah a 15-day ultimatum.
  3. Four ministers were sworn in on 27 October, taking the council to its maximum of nine.

A group of National Conference legislators has turned on its own leadership. About 17 NC MLAs and one Independent met in Srinagar on Friday and passed a joint resolution demanding a fresh reshuffle of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s cabinet, three days after he had just expanded it.

The legislators want every minister who has completed two years in office replaced. Their resolution targets “coterie culture” and “unilateral decisions”, and gives party president Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, the party’s vice-president, a 15-day ultimatum. They were also reported to want two close aides of the Chief Minister, Nasir Aslam Wani and Shammi Oberoi, removed.

Nazir Gurezi will lead a four-member delegation to Farooq Abdullah with a memorandum. He described Friday’s gathering as a “friendly lunch”.

An expansion that left seniors out

The unrest began on Tuesday, 27 October, when Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha swore in four new ministers at the Lok Bhavan Auditorium in Srinagar: Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mir Saifullah, Shameema Firdous and Altaf Kalo. Five sitting ministers had resigned before the reorganisation, which took the council of ministers to its maximum strength of nine.

Mubarak Gul, a six-time MLA from Eidgah, was left out. His supporters protested at the party headquarters at Nawa-i-Subh within hours of the ceremony, and Farooq Abdullah then made him the party’s general secretary. Abdul Majeed Larmi, also passed over, was blunt. “This was not fair to me,” he said. “I was dedicated, honest and loyal.”

The NC leadership has not publicly responded to the resolution.