Kavinder Gupta, seven others sworn in as ministers in J-K cabinet

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti reshuffled her cabinet on Moday adding six members from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and two legislators from her People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

The BJP replaced its deputy CM in the coalition ministry and inducted four new faces and elevated one to cabinet rank.

Four BJP legislators, Speaker Kavinder Gupta, minister of state Sunil Kumar Sharma and two PDP legislators took oath of office and secrecy in the much awaited cabinet rejig of the council of ministers.

Governor NN Vohra administered the oath of office to the new incumbents in the presence of chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav, J&K in charge of the BJP Avinash Rai Khanna and outgoing deputy CM Nirmal Singh.

Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta was the first to take oath in Hindi followed by PDP’s Mohammed Khalil Bandh, BJP state president Sat Sharma, PDP’s Mohammed Ashraf Mir, MoS Sunil Kumar Sharma, BJP’s Rajiv Jasrotia, BJP’s DK Manyal and Shakti Raj.

The portfolios are likely to be allocated this evening.

Former deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh who resigned Sunday night also attended the swearing in ceremony. He denied that the fallout of the Kathua gang rape and murder of a minor girl of the Bakherwal community necessitated the rejig within the BJP.

“It was a routine exercise, Singh said.

Earlier this month, the BJP had asked all its nine ministers in the ruling coalition with the Peoples Democratic Party to submit their resignations. The diktat was to enable bringing in new faces in the three-year-old Mehbooba Mufti cabinet. But the party had not forwarded the resignations to the Governor.

Two cabinet ministers -- Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga had to resign recently following their presence in a rally of the Hindu Ekta Manch in Hiranagar in March to demand a CBI inquiry into the Kathua case.