MEHBOOBA TO BE SWORN IN AS CM ON APRIL 4
SRINAGAR: Mehbooba Mufti is set to take oath as the first woman chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. According to People’s Democratic Party(PDP) sources, both the PDP and ally BJP have agreed to April 4 as the date for the swearing-in. A senior PDP leader said that the BJP had not insisted on any “shubh mahurat” (auspicious occasion) but added that the two parties were negotiating portfolios.
SRINAGAR: Mehbooba Mufti is set to take oath as the first woman chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.
According to People’s Democratic Party(PDP) sources, both the PDP and ally BJP have agreed to April 4 as the date for the swearing-in.
A senior PDP leader said that the BJP had not insisted on any “shubh mahurat” (auspicious occasion) but added that the two parties were negotiating portfolios.
There were reports doing the rounds earlier that the BJP was waiting for the inauspicious Krishna Paksha to get over. According to the Hindu calendar, Krishna Paksha is the period of the waning moon that ends on April 8.
“The BJP has demanded an equal share in power. While the PDP, being the senior partner, will have more share in cabinet berths, the Bhatratiya Janata Party has been insisting on more chairpersons of boards to equal its power share,” the leader said.
According to sources, BJP MLAs are also insisting on “non- interference from the coalition partner in transfers of c iv i l and police officials of Jammu division”.
Reports suggest that the BJP wants the important portfolios of finance and home.
Bharatiya Janata Party core group members discussed the developments at a meeting chaired by party J&K affairs in- charge and MP Avinash Rai Khanna. Khanna was in Jammu to gather feedback from party leaders before the swearing-in.
Party insiders said that the cabinet would have the same ratio as late chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s team. The Peoples Democratic Party had 11 cabinet berths, while the Bharatiya Janata Par ty had eight members in the council of ministers. Besides, both alliance par tners had three junior ministers each.