Srinagar:
Jammu and Kashmir's coalition Government was rocked on Thursday by rumblings within the People's Democratic Party (PDP), which summarily removed Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baigh from the post of its Legislature Party Leader with a view to depriving him of his position in the Cabinet.
On a day of surprise political developments, the PDP, which partners the Congress in the coalition, first sought the shifting of Mr. Baigh from the key portfolios of Finance and Law. Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who belongs to the Congress, refused to do so.
An upset PDP, led by Mr. Azad's predecessor Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, summoned a legislature party meeting, which adopted a resolution removing Mr. Baigh from the leadership of the Legislature Party. The PDP also demanded his ouster from the Cabinet.
The PDP elected Abdul Aziz Zargar, a close associate of Mr. Sayeed, as the new leader of its Legislature Party and recommended him for the post of Deputy Chief Minister. Mr. Zargar currently holds the charge of the Agriculture Ministry.
Earlier in the day, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti met Mr. Azad and demanded that Mr. Baigh be divested of his portfolios, and that they be given to Tariq Hammed Qarrar, a close aide of the Mufti.
But Mr. Azad rejected the demand and retained all the portfolios of Mr. Baigh. — PTI
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