SRINAGAR, 23 October 2005 — Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed yesterday scotched all speculations related to transfer of power from his party, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the major coalition partner, the Congress on Nov. 2.
“The agreement on sharing of power between the two coalition partners is a gentleman’s agreement and it would be kept,” Mufti said while touring the quake hit Tangdhar village in north Kashmir yesterday.
“There is no need to unnecessarily create confusion on this issue,” he added.
Mufti’s statement on transfer of power in the state came less than 24 hours after the statement of Union Urban Development Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad who is the hot favorite to replace Mufti.
Azad told newsmen in Srinagar Friday that “as of now there is no change in the schedule for transfer of power in the state on Nov. 2.”
A senior Congress leader and a close aide of Azad had tipped journalists yesterday that Mufti was all set to step down on Oct. 27 to pave the way for Azad’s take over the same day.
The union urban development minister has been camping in the state ever since it was rocked by a high magnitude earthquake on Oct. 8, supervising rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts of the quake-hit victims making the presence of the Congress felt in the operations in a big way.
The development has triggered another sort of avalanche of speculations regarding Cabinet formation in the state with senior Congress leaders hinting at downsizing of the present jumbo 39-member ministry headed by Mufti and the exit of some heavyweights of the present formation.
The State Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma has already predicted his exit from the ministry in an interview last week. He had said, “I am being demoted soon and I will no longer be the DCM. I will only be heading the Congress legislature party.”
The DCM’s post in the power-sharing agreement has to go to the PDP which has to take a tough decision about the candidate. The contenders for the post are two heavyweights, state Finance Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beigh and Urban and Housing Minister Ghulam Hassan Mir.
To avoid a conflict in the party on this issue, sources hint that the PDP may nominate its President Mehbooba Mufti for the post to avoid unsavory developments by nominating either Beigh or Mir.
Kashmir Separatist Says He Will Breach De Facto Border
Hard-line separatist leader Nayeem Khan said yesterday he and his supporters would cross the de facto Kashmiri border from the Indian zone next week to help earthquake survivors on the Pakistani side rebuild their homes and lives, despite no go-ahead from the Indian authorities.
“I will lead the first batch of my activists to Azad Kashmir via Lalpul on Oct. 25,” said Khan, who heads the separatist National Front.
Lalpul, meanwhile, is an important bridge in the Uri sector of Indian-administered Kashmir near the Line of Control (LOC), the heavily militarized cease-fire line that has divided Kashmir into two zones since 1949.
“We want to go and help our grief-stricken brothers. We want to help them rebuild their homes and lives,” said Khan.
