J&K cabinet rejig: NC strongman’s exit likely

The first ministerial reshuffle of the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference-Congress coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir will take place on Tuesday afternoon.

The first ministerial reshuffle of the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference-Congress coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir will take place on Tuesday afternoon.
In the NC, heavyweight rural development minister Ali Mohammad Sagar, minister of state for home Aslam Wani and higher education minister Abdul Gani Malik are likely to be dropped.

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Sagar is poised to become general secretary of the party in place of Sheikh Nazir, who is not only ill but has also been issuing controversial statements.

The reshuffle was on the cards after chief minister Omar Abdullah took charge of two portfolios from the Congress share when public works minister GM Saroori and education minister Peerzada Sayeed were divested of their responsibilities. Saroori was removed in August 2010 and Sayeed in February 2011 after their kin allegedly cheated to secure admission in a medical college and in a matriculate examination, respectively.

Coalition sources said Dooru MLA GA Mir, Doda MLA Abdul Majid Wani and Banihal MLA Vakar Rasool are likely to be inducted into the ministry from Congress quota. Mir and Wani are likely to get cabinet status.