Ishtiyaq Kar
Srinagar, Oct 27 (KINS): Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday administered the oath of office to four ministers in Chief Minister Omar Abdullah-led government at Lok Bhawan in Srinagar, marking a significant expansion of the Council of Ministers and bringing several experienced National Conference leaders into the government.
The four new ministers are Ali Mohammad Sagar, Shamima Firdous, Mir Saifullah and Altaf Ahmad Wani, also known as Altaf Kaloo. All four are from the Kashmir Valley and have experience in politics and public service.
While the expansion has strengthened the party’s representation in the government, the exclusion of some senior leaders triggered resentment among sections of the National Conference, with protests reported outside the party headquarters at Nawa-i-Subah.
The reshuffle also drew criticism from the BJP over regional representation, while the Congress reiterated its decision to stay out of the government until statehood is restored.
Ali Mohammad Sagar is among the most experienced legislators in the National Conference and represents the Khanyar Assembly constituency in Srinagar.
He as per news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS) has won Assembly elections from the constituency in 1996, 2002, 2008, 2014 and 2024, following his electoral debut in 1983.
Over the years, Sagar has held important responsibilities in both the party organisation and the government. He has previously served as a minister, including handling the Rural Development portfolio, and has been the party’s general secretary since 2014.
His return to the Cabinet brings considerable legislative experience to the administration.
Shamima Firdous, who represents Habbakadal in Srinagar, is a senior National Conference leader with a long association with the party’s organisational activities.
She first entered the Legislative Assembly in 2008 and subsequently won the seat in 2014 and 2024. She also heads the National Conference women’s wing and has previously served as chairperson of the State Commission for Women in the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir.
Her induction gives women a stronger presence in the Cabinet. Firdous becomes the second woman minister in the government alongside Sakina Itoo.
Mir Saifullah, a lawyer by profession, has previously served as a minister and returned to the Legislative Assembly in the 2024 elections.
Saifullah has said he would make every effort to address people’s grievances across all districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
Altaf Ahmad Wani, popularly known as Altaf Kaloo, represents the Pahalgam Assembly constituency in Anantnag district.
He entered electoral politics in 2008 and became a member of the Legislative Council in 2009. He subsequently won the Pahalgam Assembly seat in 2014 and returned to the Legislative Assembly in 2024.
His induction brings another experienced legislator from south Kashmir into the government. The allocation of portfolios to the four ministers will determine their specific administrative responsibilities.
The Cabinet expansion was accompanied by discontent among supporters of senior National Conference leader and Eidgah MLA Mubarak Gul, whose name was missing from the list of new ministers.
Gul’s supporters staged a protest outside the party headquarters at Nawa-i-Subah, expressing displeasure over the exclusion of the six-time legislator and raising slogans in his support.
Before the swearing-in ceremony, Gul expressed disappointment over being left out despite his long political career.
“I will speak at an appropriate time. I have attended 20 oath ceremonies and every time I have been dropped. You can say I have been dropped again,” he told reporters as per KINS.
In a move to address the discontent, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah subsequently appointed Gul as the party’s new general secretary, replacing Sagar, who joined the Cabinet.
Another senior party leader, Abdul Majid Bhat Larmi, also expressed disappointment over his exclusion from the Cabinet but said he accepted the leadership’s decision.
The Cabinet expansion also drew criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party, with Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma alleging that the new Council of Ministers lacked regional, religious and cultural balance.
Speaking to reporters after the swearing-in ceremony, Sharma said the government should ensure that all regions and communities were adequately represented in the administration.
He argued that governments must take every community, region and area along, maintaining that the latest expansion did not reflect the balance he expected.
Following the reshuffle, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary and Javaid Rana remain the two ministers from the Jammu region, while eight ministers belong to the Kashmir Valley.
Meanwhile, the Congress, which is part of the ruling alliance, reiterated its decision not to join the Council of Ministers.
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president Tariq Hamid Karra said discussions had taken place with the National Conference regarding Cabinet expansion, but his party had maintained its position.
Karra said the Congress had decided not to become part of the government until statehood was restored to Jammu and Kashmir.
The oath-taking ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, senior alliance leaders and opposition legislators, including members of the BJP and Peoples Democratic Party.
The expansion comes as the Omar Abdullah government seeks to strengthen its administrative team and pursue its development agenda. (KINS)
