Within minutes after Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reshuffled his Council of Ministers, protests erupted at the headquarters of the ruling National Conference, where supporters of veteran leader Mubarak Gul created an uproar over ignoring their leader.
Unruly scenes and noisy slogans were witnessed at Nawa-i-Subh Complex – the headquarters of Jammu and Kashmir's ruling National Conference (NC) – where supporters of veteran party leader and six-time Eidgah MLA, Mubarak Gul, staged protests after he was overlooked for a ministerial berth.
The protesters stormed the party office, heckled newly appointed minister Ali Mohammad Sagar and raised slogans, including "Gul Gul Sher Gul" and "Party Ka Faisla Namanzoor (the party's decision is unacceptable to us)."
Earlier, Mubarak Gul expressed disappointment over being left out of the 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.
To placate Gul, NC appoints him the party's general secretary.
Minutes after Mubarak Gul expressed disappointment over being left out of the Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet expansion, the ruling National Conference appointed him as general secretary of the party.
Party President Dr Farooq Abdullah reached out to him and appointed him General Secretary of the organisation.
The appointment of Gul as General Secretary comes amid reactions from senior party leaders who were not accommodated in the Cabinet expansion.
One more MLA expresses his anger in public
National Conference MLA Abdul Majeed Larvi also questioned his exclusion from the Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet expansion, saying he believed his name was among the leading contenders for a ministerial berth and that his seniority and loyalty to the party made him deserving of the position.
Speaking to reporters outside Lok Bhavan in Srinagar after the induction of four ministers into Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's government, the Anantnag West legislator said he was unable to understand why he had not been selected.
"My name was at the top, but I don't know why I wasn't inducted," Larvi said.
He also questioned the selection of Altaf Ahmad Kalloo, describing him as junior and pointing out that Kalloo had joined the National Conference after him.
"Altaf Kalloo was not deserving. He is junior to me and came to our party after me," Larvi said, while maintaining that he considered himself deserving of a ministerial position.
Larvi said the decision had caused him personal disappointment despite his acceptance of the party leadership's authority to select ministers.
"It was God's decision, and then it was our leadership's decision. Our leadership understood it better, although I was deserving of a ministerial post. I was expecting that it would happen to me as well," he said.
He said his seniority, honesty, loyalty and dedication to the National Conference were among the reasons he had expected to be included in the Cabinet.
"My heart hurts because I was a senior. Secondly, I was honest. Thirdly, I was loyal. Fourthly, I was dedicated. It is because of that my heart hurts. Because I am also a human being," he said.
Despite his exclusion, Larvi said he would continue to work for the party.
"I am a soldier of the party. God willing, we will work for the party. Such situations keep coming up," he said.
