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Congress mulls rejig of its Ministers in Omar Govt
The Congress leadership is considering reshuffling its Ministers in the Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet besides effecting organizational changes in the state unit to silence the rising voices of dissent among its cadre which is demanding that the party should have its own nominee as the Chief Minister in place of National Conference’s Omar Abdullah.
The demand for rotational CM has gained ground recently as Omar government is completing three years on January 5. Congress leaders in the state are insisting that Omar dispensation’s performance should be reviewed and instead of National Conference, their own nominee should head the government.
However, there is no imminent threat to Omar’s position as the Congress central leadership has ruled out replacing him as the Chief Minister even though it is considering accommodating some of its vociferous leaders through organizational and cabinet reshuffle by the end of this month.
“The party is considering reshuffle both in the party unit and government this month, but no final decision has been taken,” AICC General Secretary In-charge of Jammu and Kashmir Mohan Prakash said on Monday.
At present, two Cabinet seats of the 15 allotted to the Cabinet are lying vacant which is likely to be filled while some new faces may be included, sources said.
Jammu and Kashmir state unit General Secretary Suraj Bhan had recently charged the Omar government of indulging in “soft separatism” and urged Congress president Sonia Gandhi to conduct its performance review. He had alleged that the political rhetoric of NC leaders has put the security of the state in peril.
Bhan and many other leaders like party vice president Abdul Ghani Vakil have been reminding the Congress leadership that as per the agreement between the two parties, there was a provision of regular performance review of the state government. They want the party to act fast to preserve the support base in the state as the “inefficiency” of the Omar government would also adversely impact the Congress in the long run.
However, in view of the close rapport Omar shares with Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi and the dependence of UPA government on the support of the National Conference, the party is not likely to take any action on their demand. However, it will have to make some placatory gesture towards them.
The Congress leadership is considering reshuffling its Ministers in the Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet besides effecting organizational changes in the state unit to silence the rising voices of dissent among its cadre which is demanding that the party should have its own nominee as the Chief Minister in place of National Conference’s Omar Abdullah.
The demand for rotational CM has gained ground recently as Omar government is completing three years on January 5. Congress leaders in the state are insisting that Omar dispensation’s performance should be reviewed and instead of National Conference, their own nominee should head the government.
However, there is no imminent threat to Omar’s position as the Congress central leadership has ruled out replacing him as the Chief Minister even though it is considering accommodating some of its vociferous leaders through organizational and cabinet reshuffle by the end of this month.
“The party is considering reshuffle both in the party unit and government this month, but no final decision has been taken,” AICC General Secretary In-charge of Jammu and Kashmir Mohan Prakash said on Monday.
At present, two Cabinet seats of the 15 allotted to the Cabinet are lying vacant which is likely to be filled while some new faces may be included, sources said.
Jammu and Kashmir state unit General Secretary Suraj Bhan had recently charged the Omar government of indulging in “soft separatism” and urged Congress president Sonia Gandhi to conduct its performance review. He had alleged that the political rhetoric of NC leaders has put the security of the state in peril.
Bhan and many other leaders like party vice president Abdul Ghani Vakil have been reminding the Congress leadership that as per the agreement between the two parties, there was a provision of regular performance review of the state government. They want the party to act fast to preserve the support base in the state as the “inefficiency” of the Omar government would also adversely impact the Congress in the long run.
However, in view of the close rapport Omar shares with Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi and the dependence of UPA government on the support of the National Conference, the party is not likely to take any action on their demand. However, it will have to make some placatory gesture towards them.
