Daijiworld Media Network – Srinagar
Srinagar, Oct 26: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s much-awaited cabinet reshuffle is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, but the ruling National Conference (NC) has reportedly not consulted its alliance partner Congress or invited it to join the government.
Omar Abdullah met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday and sought time for the reshuffle. The swearing-in ceremony will be held at 10 am on Tuesday at Lok Bhavan in Srinagar, with the Lieutenant Governor administering the oath of office to the new ministers.
The reshuffle will be the first since the Omar Abdullah-led government assumed office on October 16, 2024. The government currently has six ministers, including the Chief Minister, while three cabinet positions remain vacant.
Sources indicated that Omar Abdullah may drop at least two ministers to make way for new faces and fill all three vacant positions. Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather is also likely to be inducted into the Council of Ministers and may be assigned the Finance portfolio. If Rather joins the cabinet, a senior NC MLA could be appointed as the new Assembly Speaker.
Amid intense lobbying by NC legislators for ministerial berths, Omar Abdullah has cautioned aspirants against trying to influence the selection process. He reportedly told them not to approach party president Farooq Abdullah, himself or anyone else, saying the decision on the new ministers had already been finalised.
However, the NC has apparently not kept Congress informed about the reshuffle. Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Tariq Hamid Karra told The New Indian Express that his party had received no information about the developments.
Karra said the two parties had discussed the possibility of a reshuffle earlier, but the NC did not communicate with Congress after taking the final decision. He added that the matter was the NC's prerogative.
The Congress leader reiterated that his party would not join the Jammu and Kashmir government until statehood was restored and constitutional guarantees were provided. He said the party had taken a principled position on the issue, which had been endorsed by its high command, and would continue to adhere to it.
The NC and Congress contested the 2024 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections as alliance partners. However, when Omar Abdullah took oath as Chief Minister on October 16, 2024, Congress decided not to join the government, linking its participation to the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood.