Azad, one step forward another backward
By News Agency of Kashmir
Srinagar : Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad seems to be buckling under the ‘weight’ of Peoples Democratic Party patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who is in New Delhi and meeting the senior Congress leaders, mostly the staunch opponents of once the blue eyed boy of 10 Janpath.
Chief Minister, who is in the habit of springing surprizes while leaving for Delhi, has stirred a hornets nest by handing over the additional charge of Housing and Urban Development department to already over-burdened Minister of Forests, Higher Education, Technical Education and Horticulture, Aijaz Ahmed Khan.
The decision has come under sharp criticism from both the PDP and Congress leaders claiming annonymity, who feel that wrong has been perpetuated upon Qazi Mohammad Afzal both by PDP and Congress leadership by handing over the charge to Aijaz Khan while the issue was not discussed by the top leadership of both the parties.
The dissidents among Congress feel that chief minister is playing politics at the cost of deserving Congress MLAs who are sulking in oblivion. They said that while some of the ministers neck deep in corruption charges and overloaded with departments are enjoying the patronage of Azad, others are facing the flak of commopn masses for inefficiency of the government.
They said that most of the departments under the direct charge of chief minister are either having no officers at the helm like Industries, while other are facing Vigilance inquiries or are far junior than those working under them.
An official spokesman has, however, tried to justify the chief minister’s decision by claiming that Qazi Mohammad Afzal continues to hold the Cabinet portfolio of Housing and Urban Development.
The spokesman said that the manner in which a section of the media reported assigning of Housing and Urban Development Department to Aijaz Ahmad Khan recently, in addition to other charges held by him as Minister of State, has created an impression that the charge of Housing and Urban Development Department held by Qazi Mohammad Afzal as Cabinet Minister has been given to Shri Khan which is not correct.
He said the factual position is that Qazi Mohammad Afzal continues to hold the Cabinet portfolio of Housing and Urban Development Department.
The spokesman said that most of the Departments of State Government have a Minister of State in addition to the Cabinet Minister. He said since there was no Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development Department, this charge was entrusted to Aijaz Ahmad Khan in addition to his other charges.
But Government clarification, notwithstanding, senior PDP leader Qazi Mohammad Afzal while talking to News Agency of Kashmir reiterated that he had resigned from the ministry and chief minister should not play politics at his cost.
He said that his decision of resigning is final and his PDP leadership is only authorized to order him which he would obey in the best traditions of a true soldier.
Political analysts feel that the chief minister’s decision to hand over the additional charge to Aijaz Khan, if not a mischief, seems to be a hasty decision in view of the raging controversy between the coalition partners Congress and PDP. In all propriety, if at all, he wanted to hand over the charge of department to a minister for the time being, it should have been somebody from the PDP, they feel.
But the manner in which the announcement of handing over of charge to Khan was made, while the chief minister left for Delhi clearly demonstrate that he wanted to create more of a confusion among the PDP leaders than having functioning of the department in mind.
The way all the files were removed from our office has sent shivers among our sraff, disclosed an official working in the office of Qazi Mohammad Afzal to NAK and we were so terrified that anytime Estates department, which is directly under the charge of chief minister would ask us to pack our baggage and get lost.
But thanks god, good sense has prevailed and Insha-allah Qazi sahib would be back, he prayed.