Cabinet reshuffle triggers political row: BJP accuses Omar of targeting Hindus; Dy CM hits back
Within hours of the ruling National Conference carrying out its long-awaited Cabinet reshuffle by inducting four new ministers and dropping one, the exercise took a religious and regional turn, with the opposition BJP accusing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of targeting Hindus and neglecting the Jammu region.
As the reshuffle left only one Hindu minister in the Council of Ministers, the BJP seized the opportunity to attack the Omar Abdullah government, alleging that it was ignoring the largest minority community in the Union Territory.
The BJP accused Omar Abdullah of deliberately punishing the Hindu community of Jammu and Kashmir for supporting the BJP in the recent Assembly elections.
Addressing a joint press conference in Jammu alongside party spokespersons J&K BJP chief spokesperson Advocate Sunil Sethi alleged that the new Council of Ministers reflected a clear bias against the Jammu region and the Hindu community in particular.
"Although every section of society voted for our party, Omar Abdullah is in a mood to punish Hindus," Sethi said.
He alleged that by denying Hindus adequate representation in the Cabinet, the Chief Minister appeared to be exacting political retribution for the community's electoral choice.
Sethi recalled that the BJP had earlier predicted that divisions within the National Conference would emerge as soon as Omar Abdullah reshuffled his Cabinet.
With six ministers already in place, three of them from Jammu, the party had expected that at least one of the three remaining ministerial berths would go to the Jammu region and that Hindu representation would be meaningfully increased. Instead, he said, the reshuffle had left the plains of Jammu without adequate representation and reduced Hindu representation to just one minister in the expanded Cabinet.
The BJP leader also questioned the decision to drop Satish Sharma, arguing that he had faced the fewest corruption allegations among the ministers in the previous Cabinet.
"Those facing serious allegations were retained, while a person with a relatively clean image was dropped," Sethi said. "If the National Conference wanted to remove Satish Sharma, it should at least have accommodated other Hindu MLAs to maintain balance. It has failed to do so."
Sethi questioned what message the government was sending to the people of Jammu and how residents of a region allegedly left without adequate representation could expect justice from the administration.
He further claimed that the dissent visible within the National Conference after the reshuffle, with leaders publicly criticising the party and supporters raising slogans against it, indicated that the party was heading towards a split and possible political eclipse in Jammu and Kashmir.
Deputy Chief Minister hits back at BJP
Reacting to the BJP's allegations, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary said the Omar Abdullah government was committed to ensuring balanced and equitable development across all regions and sub-regions of Jammu and Kashmir.
"I don't know why BJP leaders are giving a communal colour to the Cabinet reshuffle. Don't BJP leaders consider me a Hindu?" he asked, adding, "I don't know who is Hindu in the eyes of BJP leaders."
The Deputy Chief Minister further said that the government, under the leadership of Omar Abdullah, would ensure justice and equitable development across all regions and sub-regions of Jammu and Kashmir.