BJP starts moving to placate Sajjad

Minister is yet to assume charge; Ram Madhav asks Nirmal Singh to resolve issue

BJP moving to placate SajjadWith an annoyed Sajjad Gani Lone yet to assume charge as minister, national BJP general secretary Ram Madhav has asked Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
The People’s Conference chairman, an ally of the BJP, is learnt to be unhappy with allocation of the Social Welfare Department and has yet to assume charge.
Sajjad took oath with other ministers of the PDP and BJP on April 4 when Mehbooba Mufti assumed charge as Chief Minister.
Despite taking oath as Cabinet minister, Sajjad did not take charge of his office even after the passage of over a month.
Highly placed sources said the Deputy Chief Minister had been asked to address Sajjad’s grievances and placate him.
The BJP had been facing embarrassment for its failure to properly accommodate its only ally in Kashmir.
“The Deputy Chief Minister has talked to Sajjad over the telephone and assured him on addressing all his grievances,” a source said.
The BJP leadership had decided to get the Science and Technology Department reallocated to Sajjad.
In the government headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Sajjad was holding charge of animal husbandry along with science and technology.
“After meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, Sajjad had decided to work closely with the BJP. Local leaders of the party have failed to properly accommodate him,” said a Sajjad confidant.
“Instead of recognising the bold step taken by him, local BJP leaders are discouraging him,” he said.
Son of the late separatist leader Abdul Ghani Lone, Sajjad is the first separatist leader of the Valley to have participated in the 2014 Assembly polls.
“Instead of treating Sajjad as an ally, local BJP leaders have tried to undermine the separate identity of the People’s Conference by treating Sajjad on a par with other MLAs of the party,” he said.
The sources said Sajjad, who was in Delhi for the last 15 days, was unlikely to return to the state by the end of this month.
Confirming that BJP leaders had taken initiatives to placate the annoyed leader, the sources said Sajjad would assume charge only after holding proper discussions with Central leaders of the party.

Related posts