J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Ahmed Patel, Ambika Azad’s kingmakers
Jammu, October 28
The Political Secretary to the UPA Chairperson, Ms Sonia Gandhi, Mr Ahmed Patel, with the help of Mrs Ambika Soni, AICC general secretary, are said to have been the king makers for Thursday’s announcement under which Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad was to replace Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, as Chief Minister.

Mood upbeat in Cong camp
Srinagar, October 28
A day after the announcement that Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad would be the next Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir as per the agreement, it was a day of hectic political activity in the coalition parties, the Congress and the PDP — here today.

• Editorial: CM by turn

BJP welcomes Azad as new CM
Jammu, October 28
The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP has welcomed the decision of the Congress high command to install Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad as the Chief Minister of the state.

Mufti to resign today
Srinagar, October 28
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed will submit his resignation from the post to the Governor, Lieut-Gen S.K. Sinha (retd), tomorrow, official sources said today.

Ahmed Patel, Ambika Azad’s kingmakers
M.L. Kak

Jammu, October 28
The Political Secretary to the UPA Chairperson, Ms Sonia Gandhi, Mr Ahmed Patel, with the help of Mrs Ambika Soni, AICC general secretary, are said to have been the king makers for Thursday’s announcement under which Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad was to replace Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, as Chief Minister.

Till late Thursday afternoon the Congress high command remained indecisive on the implementation of power transfer agreement. Party sources said that it was Mr Ahmed Patel who persuaded Ms Sonia Gandhi to resolve uncertainty by throwing the dice in favour of Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad.

In fact the PDP leadership, including Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, had remained confident that the status quo would be maintained. This was evident from the body language of the Chief Minister during-his tour of tremor-hit areas in Uri and during the press conference he held in Srinagar on Thursday.

Two major factors are said to have weighed in favour of the change of guard in Jammu and Kashmir. First, when the Mufti refused to continue for a month or so it motivated Ms Sonia Gandhi to reconsider her plan of giving more time to Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. The Mufti wanted full three years and had not accepted to head what he termed as a caretaker Government.

Secondly, six associate members of the congress, including Babu Singh, Puran Singh, Aijaz Khan, Abdul Majid Wani and Haji Abdul Rashid, had threatened to withdraw their support to the Government if Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was not replaced by Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Their threat seemed to have unnerved the Congress high command, more than the resignations submitted by 15 congress MLAs in protest against the plan of maintaining the status quo, because withdrawal of their support would have reduced the Mufti-led Government to a minority.

No doubt the AICC leaders had declared that the congress MLAs had not submitted their resignation, party sources said that the resignation letters had been sent to the Speaker of the Assembly in Delhi. It was on this very gesture that Ms Sonia Gandhi had asked Mr Azad to send back these MLAs to Jammu and Kashmir so that they supervise relief operations in areas affected by the earthquake.

Some of the Congress MLAs had conveyed to the AICC leaders that even the opposition parties, including the BJP and the Mukti Morcha, besides the Panthers Party, that supports the coalition Government, had been campaigning against denial of Chief Minister’s post to a leader belonging to the Jammu region. Prof Virender Gupta, chief of the Jammu Mukti Morcha, had said that during the past 58 years not a single Jammuite had been allowed a chance to be the Chief Minister of the state which indicated that the region received a raw deal in every sphere.

Reports said that this strengthened the demand for the change of guard in Jammu and Kashmir.

Now that the choice of replacing Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has fallen on Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad he would be expected to carry the flock of alliance partners together. Equally important for him is to ensure that groupism in the state unit of the Congress became a thing of the past. Those who have worked with him said that Mr Azad had the capacity to infuse discipline in the organisation. He is not only a respected but a feared leader for the partymen in Jammu and Kashmir.

The first major difficulty for him would be the ministry formation from the Congress. Sources close to him said that at least two to four Ministers belonging to the Congress might be dropped and new faces are to be inducted.

It was the PCC leadership that a year ago, favoured throwing the Panthers Party, which has four MLAs out of them two being members of the existing Council of Ministers, out of the coalition. The plan could not be implemented because Mufti Mohammad Sayeed wanted to retain the Panthers Party’s support.

Mood upbeat in Cong camp
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 28
A day after the announcement that Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad would be the next Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir as per the agreement, it was a day of hectic political activity in the coalition parties, the Congress and the PDP — here today. While the mood in the Congress was upbeat, it was different in the ruling PDP for the “manner” in which the Congress high command had taken the decision on the change of guard at the end of the three-years term schedule for November 2.

The PDP held a meeting of its ministers, legislators and senior party leaders at the residence of party patron and Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed this morning. The PDP president and MP, Ms Mehbooba Mufti, was among those present.

Sources in the party said the meeting decided that a legislature party meeting would be held in a few days to take stock of the situation.

In the Congress circles, it was a day of celebrations with crackers bursting at the party headquarters here.

Talking to media-persons, the JKPCC chief and the Rural Development Minister, Mr Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, welcomed the decision of the party high command. “It is in accordance with the aspirations of the people of the state”, he said. 

BJP welcomes Azad as new CM
Tribune News Service

Jammu, October 28
The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP has welcomed the decision of the Congress high command to install Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad as the Chief Minister of the state.

The vice-president of the state BJP, Prof Hari Om, said here today that by designating Mr Azad as Chief Minister the Congress high command had fulfilled the 58-year-old demand of the people of Jammu that the Chief Minister should be from that region.

He said the decision would go a long way in harmonising inter-regional relations, giving a sense of belonging to those who were never considered fit to handle the affairs of the state or protect and advance the national interests.

Prof Hari Om drew the attention of the Congress towards the promises made in the last Assembly elections and demanded those should be fulfilled immediately.

The Congress-led regime should implement the 97th Constitutional Amendment to restrict the size of the new ministry.

Mufti to resign today

Srinagar, October 28
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed will submit his resignation from the post to the Governor, Lieut-Gen S.K. Sinha (retd), tomorrow, official sources said today.

The sources said Mr Sayeed had sought an appointment with the Governor at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Raj Bhavan.

They said the Chief Minister would submit his resignation during the meeting.

The sources said the Governor would ask Mr Sayeed to continue in the post till November 2, when Union Urban Development Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad will be sworn in as the new Chief Minister. — UNI

Decision on expected lines: CPM
Tribune News service

Srinagar, October 28
The state unit of the CPM, a constituent of the coalition government, has described the Congress decision on Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad on “expected lines”, which had been taken after unnecessary debate creating an uncertain situation during the past few weeks.

Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami, state secretary of the CPM and MLA, said his party would continue to support the government from outside. “The new government will be under the watchful eyes of the common man. Let us hope that the new government delivers well”, he said. The CPM has two members, both from south Kashmir, in the 87-member state Legislative Assembly while the Panthers Party has four members from the Jammu region with a ministerial berth.