Srinagar, Nov 2 (NVI) The two-year-old National Conference (NC) government headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is facing a major crisis as 25 of ruling party’s 42 MLAs have ganged up against the leadership with certain difficult demands.
The ganging up by the disgruntled MLAs comes at a time when Aga Syed Ruhulla, a Lok Sabha member of the party and a prominent face, is set to resign from the party and as an MP tomorrow.
Ruhullah, a significant Shia leader, is quitting NC as he feels Omar Abdullah is not doing enough regarding the demand for restoration of Statehood of Jammu and Kashmir.
Coinciding with his exit, 25 MLAs have raised a banner of revolt since the October 28 expansion of the Council of Ministers by Abdullah.
They want removal of all existing ministers, along with that of the Chief Minister’s Advisor Nasir Saugami.
The rebels have written a letter, signed by 16 MLAs, to Farooq Abdullah, NC president and father of Omar Abdullah, warning of consequences if their demands are not met within two weeks.
According to the rebel camp, they have support of 9 other MLAs of NC but they could not sign the document as they were out of station attending to personal matters.
Objecting to some of the ministers inducted in the recent Cabinet expansion, the dissident MLAs want reconstitution of the Council of Ministers through a transparent and merit-based mechanism. They want the leadership to consult the entire legislature party before taking decisions on ministerial appointments, rather than allowing a select group to exercise unilateral control over the process.
The legislators have also raised concerns over the party’s ideological commitments and its election manifesto. They have demanded an aggressive push for the restoration of Article 370, Article 35A and other allied constitutional safeguards, while opposing what they perceive as compromises on these issues.
The rebel faction wants the government to take up these demands forcefully with the BJP-led central government.
If not defused, the rebellion can pose a threat to the stability of the Abdullah government. NC has 42 MLAs in the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. (NVI)
