BJP asks its J&K Ministers to resign to bring in new faces

J&K Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh (left) and BJP State chief Sat Sharma. File

J&K Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh (left) and BJP State chief Sat Sharma. File   | Photo Credit: PTI

According to top State government sources, the reshuffle is likely to take place on April 20.

The BJP on April 17 asked all its nine Ministers in Jammu and Kashmir to submit their resignations to enable the party to bring in new faces into the two-year-old Mehbooba Mufti Cabinet, party leaders said in Jammu.

The BJP has been under pressure ever since two of its Ministers — Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga — took part in a rally in support of those accused in the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua. The two Ministers subsequently resigned.

The State can have a maximum of 25 Ministers, including the Chief Minister, out of which 14 portfolios are with the PDP and the remaining with the BJP.

According to top State government sources, the reshuffle is likely to take place on April 20. The decision follows hectic parleys between senior BJP leader Avinash Khanna and party legislators, the sources said.