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Farooq cites LG’s illness for delay in cabinet expansion
J&K cabinet expansion is delayed by Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha’s illness; Omar Abdullah is expected to add ministers after Sinha returns.
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National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Monday cited lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha’s illness as the reason for the further delay in the cabinet expansion in Jammu and Kashmir. He said once Sinha is back, the much-awaited cabinet expansion will take place.
J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah had earlier said that after consultation with NC president Farooq Abdullah, cabinet expansion will take place after the GST council meeting that ended last week. However, the expansion was further delayed after the meeting, prompting opposition parties to attribute it to internal bickering within NC.
On Monday, the NC chief clarified that the expansion couldn’t take place last week due to Sinha’s illness.
“The lieutenant governor has been ill. He was not here. When he arrives, the cabinet will be expanded,” Farooq told reporters.
The NC government has completed two years in office with the same set of council of ministers that took the oath in October 2024.
For the past 22 months, Omar, despite pressure from within the party, has kept delaying the expansion. The CM could induct three more ministers into the cabinet and could also reshuffle the portfolios of five ministers who are part of the council of ministers.
“Don’t expect a cabinet expansion before August 15. The expansion will take place soon, at the appropriate time. Even in Delhi there has been news about a reshuffle of the cabinet, but newspersons never ask questions when it’s taking place. It’s going to happen here, but not before August 15,” Omar told reporters in Srinagar on the sidelines of a function about two weeks ago.
Even senior colleagues of the CM, Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan and Nasir Aslam Wani, had said that cabinet expansion was the CM’s prerogative. However, Ramzan, a two-time former minister and now Rajya Sabha member, said the expansion should take place without any delay.
“The cabinet expansion should happen as it is very important. Our J&K has many regions, religions and topographies. When J&K was a state, we used to have 25 ministers. Now we can have only nine ministers. As additional general secretary of the party, I feel it is very important to have a cabinet expansion,” Ramzan said, adding that it is the prerogative of the CM to decide who will be part of the cabinet.
Earlier, Omar had dropped repeated hints about a cabinet expansion. Last year, he said that expansion could follow the Rajya Sabha and bypolls. “Induction of a few more ministers is on the cards,” he had said soon after the NC won three of the four Rajya Sabha seats.
This proposed expansion is a high-stakes exercise for the government as it aims to streamline governance in the J&K.
Opposition leaders, chiefly the PDP and the People’s Conference, have accused the government of failing to fulfil promises, administrative mismanagement, and leaving ministers overburdened.
Though several names are doing the rounds as possible cabinet picks, leaders privy to the developments said all three could be from the NC. The Congress, which contested the polls in alliance with the NC jointly, has refused to join the government unless J&K gets statehood. Senior Congress leaders have been saying that statehood, not cabinet berths, is their priority.
The NC government currently has five ministers, including deputy chief minister Surinder Gupta. Leaders are hopeful that Omar will balance regional representation while addressing a restless electorate demanding immediate results.
The fresh expansion could take the strength of the cabinet to eight. Currently, three ministers are from Jammu and two from Kashmir.
Several senior legislators are hopeful of securing cabinet berths. People familiar with the matter said that the CM is finding it very difficult to accommodate everyone as there are many aspirants for just three berths. BJP, which is the main opposition in J&K, mocked the CM, saying that he fears that many legislators could break from the party if they aren’t given cabinet portfolios.
