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Amarnath yatra: 4 Congress Ministers in J&K quit

By Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR, JUNE 24. The row over the decision not to extend the Amarnath Yatra period today took a new turn with four Congress Ministers of State in the coalition Government in Jammu and Kashmir resigning in "protest." However, the latest Ministry reshuffle is also seen as an immediate provocation for the move.The Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Raman Bhalla, the Minister of State for Youth Services, Yogesh Sawhney, the Minister of State for Tourism, Jugal Kishore, and the Minister of State for Revenue, Romesh Sharma, have sent their resignations to the Union Minister and Pradesh Congress Committee president, Ghulam Nabi Azad, for forwarding it to the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi. Mr. Azad is also the chairman of the coordination committee of the coalition Government.

Mr. Bhalla confirmed that all the four Ministers had sent their resignation in protest against the decision of the Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, not to extend the Amarnath Yatra for two months. "We are the representatives of the people and cannot be silent spectators over such a sensitive issue in which the people of the country are involved," Mr. Bhalla told The Hindu . He said the coalition Government played an important role in normalising the situation in Kashmir and "we are stopping people from the rest of the country from seeing this change. We were forced to seek the intervention of Ms Gandhi."

However, the Ministers are also upset with what they call "regional imbalance" in the Ministry. Pointing out that out of the 20 Congress MLAs, only four were from the Kashmir valley and were holding important positions, Mr. Bhalla said, "We are not being treated fairly."

When contacted, the Chief Minister said he had no information about the resignations. "I do not know anything about it. Let the resignations come to me," he told The Hindu .

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