By IANS
Srinagar : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has rejected the resignation of senior People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader and Urban Development Minister Qazi Muhammad Afzal.
Qazi had Tuesday tendered his resignation from the council of ministers after Azad stripped him of the forest portfolio.
In a dramatic turn of events, the chief minister wrote a letter to Qazi late Tuesday not only rejecting his resignation but also giving him a clean chit.
The letter to Qazi said: “I am surprised to receive your letter dated 4/09/2007 tendering your resignation from the council of ministers. I was even more surprised by the reasons cited by you for tendering the resignation.”
The letter not only requested Qazi to continue in the council of ministers but also hinted at the return of the forest portfolio to him.
Azad said in his letter that “the mess in the forest department … had been created by some officials who had not been taking Qazi’s orders seriously”.
Qazi was divested of the forest portfolio Sunday followed reports of large-scale bungling in the forest corporation.