Congress leader and MLA from Dooru, Ghulam Ahmed Mir, has said that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will decide whether to include a Congress member in the cabinet.
The Congress and National Conference fought the elections together and won majority in the 90-member assembly. Congress does not have a ministerial position in the government.
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However, Mir stressed that this does not change the fact that it is a coalition government.
“Although we do not have any representative in the government, yet it is a reality that this regime is a coalition government," he said. "We fought elections jointly. Numbers do not matter. All stakeholders are equally important in the government."
When asked why Congress had not been given a ministerial position, he said it was the chief minister’s decision. “It is the prerogative of the chief minister, but we are very much part and parcel of this government,” he said. At the same time, he admitted that the chances of Congress getting a berth in the current cabinet are slim.
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He pointed out that the council of ministers in the Union Territory is limited to a “Nine-Plus-One” structure, meaning there are restrictions on how many ministers can be included.
Mir said the situation could change once Jammu and Kashmir becomes a state again. With statehood, the number of ministerial positions would increase, giving the Congress a better chance. “After J&K gets statehood, the strength of ministers would be increased,” he said.
He also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s earlier promise that statehood would be restored after the delimitation exercise and assembly elections. “The prime minister stated on record that the delimitation exercise would be followed by the conduct of assembly elections and restoration of statehood,” he said, urging Modi to act now that elections are over.
He also supported a resolution passed in Jammu and Kashmir assembly calling for special status. “The resolution represents the aspirations and wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.