SRINAGAR: Senior National Conference leader Mubarak Gul on Tuesday expressed disappointment over being left out of the Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet expansion, saying he had attended 30 oath-taking ceremonies but had repeatedly been excluded from the ministerial team.
“I have attended 30 oath-taking ceremonies till now. Every time I was dropped, and today as well, I am being dropped,” Gul told reporters outside Lok Bhawan in Srinagar.
His remarks came after Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath of office and secrecy to four National Conference legislators — Ali Mohammad Sagar, Shameema Firdous, Mir Saifullah and Altaf Ahmad Kalloo — as ministers in Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s government.
Gul’s exclusion came amid a restructuring of the Council of Ministers, with the four inductions completing the latest round of cabinet expansion.
The newly inducted minister Shameema Firdous expressed happiness over the opportunity given to her by the party and said she would continue to work harder.
Mir Saifullah thanked the National Conference leadership, headed by Dr Farooq Abdullah, and Almighty Allah for the opportunity to join the government.
“I am really thankful to the Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference leadership and Almighty Allah for this opportunity,” he said.
Firdous’s induction came despite her not featuring prominently among the names discussed ahead of the expansion.
The induction of the four legislators brought the Council of Ministers to its maximum permissible strength of nine members.
