Ahead of a Cabinet reshuffle on Monday, Jammu and Kashmir deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh tendered his resignation to pave the way for state Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta to take over the post in the PDP-BJP government led by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.
BJP's state unit chief Sat Sharma, MLAs from Kathua and adjoining Sambha Rajiv Jasrotia and Devinder Kumar Manyal are among the BJP faces who will be inducted into the state government as cabinet ministers.
The much-awaited reshuffle of the Jammu and Kashmir coalition ministry was held on Monday, with Governor NN Vohra on Sunday extending a formal invitation for the event.
The swearing-in of new ministers in Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's Cabinet by the governor is scheduled to held at noon at the Convention Centre instead of Raj Bhavan, as all government offices in Jammu shut down on Saturday ahead of a six-month sojourn in summer capital Srinagar.
File image of Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufit. AFP
Vohra extended invitation to state ministers, legislators and the media for the event.
One ministerial berth that fell vacant after the dropping of then Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu from the Council of Ministers will not be filled by the ruling party now.
The sources, however, did not rule out minor reallocation of portfolios among the PDP ministers.
Its coalition partner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to induct some new faces and also withdraw some of its ministers from the Council of Ministers.
The names doing the rounds for ministerial berths include BJP state unit president Sat Sharma, Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta, Sukhnandan Choudhary, Shakti Parihar, Rajesh Jasrota, and Ravinder Raina.
BJP's junior minister Sunil Sharma is likely to be elevated to Cabinet rank.
The reshuffle was due ever since two BJP Ministers Choudhary Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga were asked to resign due to a controversy over their participation in a Hindu Ekta Manch rally in support of the accused in the Kathua rape-murder case.
The BJP had sought and received resignations of all party ministers in the Council of Ministers though only two were forwarded to the chief minister.
With inputs from IANS
Updated Date: Apr 30, 2018 13:02 PM
Highlights
PDP to keep finance ministry
The PDP will keep the finance portfolio, but there will also be a party member in charge of portfolios of the ministers from party in light of the new inductions.
Ministers take oath in Jammu's Convention Centre amid tight security
Governor NN Vohra administered the oath of office and secrecy to eight ministers, some of who took the oath in English and others in Hindi at the Convention Centre in Jammu amid tight security arrangements.
The chief minister will allocate the portfolios later in the day for which the orders will be issued by the general administration department. The BJP will distribute the portfolios to the new faces. These will include portfolios held earlier by ministers including Lal Singh, Nirmal Singh, Chander Prakash Ganga, Bali Bhagat and Priya Sethi.
12:28 (IST)
Rajeev Jasrotia and Mohammad Khalil Bandh take oath as ministers
12:20 (IST)
Kavinder Gupta takes oath as deputy chief minister
12:19 (IST)
Two new PDP members take oath on Monday
The government is inducting Pulwama PDP MLA Muhammad Khalil Bhand and Sonawar MLA Muhammad Ashraf Mir on Monday.
Khalil had been attacked and injured by a stone-pelting mob in his native district in July 2016. While MLA Ashraf Mir was captured on air firing shots from an AK-47 rifle after defeating former chief minister Omar Abdullah by 4,000 votes from the Sonawar assembly in 2014.
Seven new faces to be inducted into the J&K govt
Among those who will be administered oath include Kavinder Gupta, Sat Pal Sharma, Rajiv Jasrotia, Devinder Manyal and Shakti Raj of the BJP, and Mohammad Khalil Bandh and Ashraf Mir from the PDP.
12:11 (IST)
Visuals from the swearing-in ceremony in Jammu's Raj Bhawan
12:06 (IST)
Cabinet reshuffle "very normal thing" in a democratic setup, says Union minister Jitendra Singh
12:03 (IST)
Swearing-in ceremony begins
12:02 (IST)
Nirmal Singh to become next Assembly speaker
"Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta will be the new deputy chief minister. Nirmal Singh will be named the new Speaker of the state Legislative Assembly. The other legislators who will be inducted into the cabinet today are Sat Sharma, Rajiv Jasrotia, Devender Maniyal and Shakti Parihar. Parihar will be sworn in as a junior minister while the other four will be of cabinet minister rank. Among the existing ministers, Sunil Sharma will be elevated to cabinet rank," sources told IANS.
12:01 (IST)
National General Secretary of the BJP Ram Madhav says reshuffle has nothing to do with Kathua rape and murder case
Governor NN Vohra accepts resignations of 5 ministers from their current posts. Here is the official statement:
11:54 (IST)
Governor NN Vohra accepts resignations of 5 ministers from their current posts. Here is the official statement:
11:49 (IST)
Kavinder Gupta had defeated senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla to win from Gandhi Nagar
Fifty-five-year-old Gupta won from the Gandhi Nagar constituency in the 2014 Assembly polls after defeating senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla. According to documents submitted to the Election Commission, Gupta has total assets of over Rs 2.4 crore, and liabilities of around Rs 12 lakh, and has no criminal cases registered against him.
11:43 (IST)
Kavinder Gupta had taken charge as J&K Assembly Speaker in 2015
Gupta, who represents Jammu's Gandhi Nagar, serves as the current Speaker of the state's 89-member legislative Assembly. Gupta was elected as the Speaker over two years ago in March 2015 after senior PDP leader Naeem Akhtar proposed Gupta's name for the post.
The official bulletin released by the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly confirming the resignation of Speaker Kavinder Gupta
11:31 (IST)
Cabinet reshuffle due since Kathua rape case
The reshuffle was due ever since two BJP ministers Choudhary Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga were asked to resign due to a controversy over their participation in a Hindu Ekta Manch rally in support of the accused in the Kathua rape and murder case.
BJP state president Sat Sharma to be inducted today
The BJP has also brought in Sat Sharma as a minister, as the party is looking at changing the organisational structure and elect a new president in place of Sharma. Sharma's tenure ends in December.
11:22 (IST)
Kavinder Gupta to take oath as the new deputy CM today
Governor NN Vohra to administer aath of office
Governor NN Vohra will administer the oath of office and secrecy to multiple new ministers in Jammu on Monday. The BJP is learnt to have communicated a list of ministers to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti who has forwarded it to Raj Bhawan.
11:14 (IST)
Top ministers to be left out of new cabinet
Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, Health Minister Bali Bhagat and junior minister Priya Sethi will not be included in the new council, reports said.
10:50 (IST)
Swearing-in ceremony to begin at noon
The swearing-in of new ministers in Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's Cabinet by the governor is scheduled to held at noon at the Convention Centre instead of Raj Bhavan, as all government offices in Jammu shut down on Saturday ahead of a six-month sojourn in summer capital Srinagar
10:46 (IST)
Governor sent out official invites for swearing-in on Sunday
The much-awaited reshuffle of the Jammu and Kashmir coalition ministry will be done on Monday, with Governor NN Vohra on Sunday extending a formal invitation for the event.