'Farooq to be inducted in first Cabinet expansion'

Denying the reports that his father is miffed with the Congress over portfolio allocation, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured Farooq Abdullah that he will be inducted into the Cabinet when the first expansion takes place. Asked whether he was unhappy with the manner in which the Congress handled the issue of government formation, he said "the Prime Minister has left no room for us to be angry".

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured Farooq Abdullah that he will be inducted into the Cabinet when the first expansion takes place, J and K chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Friday.

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Singh spoke to Abdullah late last night amid reports that the National Conference was upset with the Congress for not communicating to it on whether or not he will be part of the Cabinet, Omar told reporters in New Delhi.

Asked whether he was unhappy with the manner in which the Congress handled the issue of government formation, he said "the Prime Minister has left no room for us to be angry".

Omar had on Thursday stated that the NC was not hankering for any post but it would have been nice if the Congress had informed the party whether Farooq, the NC president, was "in or out".

Farooq will not be present at the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as he is leaving for South Africa as part of the Indian Cricket Board delegation to witness the last stage of the ongoing IPL cricket tournament.