17 NC legislators, one Independent attend meeting; group seeks replacement of ministers who completed two years in office
Srinagar, Oct 30 (JKNS): Fresh signs of discontent have emerged within the ruling National Conference (NC) following the recent cabinet reshuffle, with 18 legislators, including 17 NC MLAs and one Independent, meeting in Srinagar on Friday to discuss their response to the exercise, sources said.
The meeting was held at the residence of an NC legislator in Srinagar, where the participants discussed what they described as an unfair cabinet expansion and explored a common strategy, sources told news agency JKNS.
Sources said the legislators reached a consensus to seek the replacement of four ministers who were part of the original Council of Ministers formed in October 2024.
“They have completed two years in office and should now be replaced by new faces,” sources said.
The meeting comes amid growing resentment among several ruling alliance legislators over their exclusion from the expanded cabinet.
As many as 11 MLAs supporting the ruling alliance, most of them from the NC, had stayed away from the oath-taking ceremony of four new ministers on October 27.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expanded his cabinet on Tuesday, inducting NC legislators Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mir Saifullah, Shamima Firdous and Altaf Ahmad Wani, popularly known as Altaf Kaloo. Independent legislator Satish Sharma was dropped from the ministry, taking the Council of Ministers to its maximum permissible strength of nine, including the Chief Minister.
The four ministers whose replacement is reportedly being sought are among the five legislators who took oath alongside Omar Abdullah when the government was formed on October 16, 2024. Satish Sharma, the fifth, has since been dropped.
The meeting comes against the backdrop of expressions of disappointment by some NC legislators who were left out of the reshuffle.—(JKNS)