BJP ministers in J&K resign; reshuffle on cards

BJP ministers in the Mehabooba Mufti government, barring deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh, have resigned to enable the party to have new faces in an impending reshuffle. The ministers submitted their resignations to Jammu and Kashmir BJP unit president Sat Sharma on Tuesday.

The development comes two days after commerce minister Chandra Prakash Ganga and irrigation minister Sham Lal Choudhary participated in a Hindu Ekta Manch rally in Jammu organised in support of those accused of raping and murdering an 8-year-old girl in Kathua and later resigned following an outcry. The BJP has maintained that the ministers were sent to Kathua to talk to the public.

“BJP is a big party and performance is strictly monitored here. We are accountable to people and there could be possibility of reshuffle as well. There are directions from New Delhi that only state president will speak on the issue,” a senior BJP leader of J&K told ET. State p re s i d e n t S at Sharma’s phone was switched off though.


A BJP leader said that since Ganga and Choudhary had to quit last week, it would have been embarrassing for the party to induct replacements soon and hence the mass resignation. BJP is expected to retain its strength in the Mehbooba Mufti government after the reshuffle.

Despite differences and squabbles even inside the Assembly, PDP and BJP have continued with their alliance since April 2016. A senior PDP leader said that BJP had sought resignation of all ministers a few days back but made public the resignation of only two ministers initially.