Omar meets LG; decks cleared for ministry reshuffle?

Decks were today cleared for the long awaited reshuffle of the ministry after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met the Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha in Srinagar.

National Conference President Farooq Abdullah had recently said the long-awaited expansion of the Council of Ministers would take place after Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha returns to the Valley.

“The LG was not well and is out of J&K. When the LG comes, there will be an expansion of the cabinet,” he said.

CM Omar had earlier said that a decision on the expansion would follow the GST Council meeting and consultations with the NC president.

Under Section 53(1) of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the Council of Ministers cannot exceed 10 percent of the total strength of the Legislative Assembly. With 90 elected members, the council can have a maximum of nine members, including the Chief Minister.

The present council comprises six members: CM Omar, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary, and Ministers Sakeena Masood Itoo, Javed Ahmed Rana, Javid Ahmad Dar and Satish Sharma. Three ministerial berths are vacant.

Congress has so far declined to join the government, opting to support it from outside until the restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.

The NC had offered the party a ministerial berth, but Congress has maintained its position on statehood first.