Sajad Lone, People’s Conference leader and BJP ally in Jammu and Kashmir, who did not assume charge as Minister for Animal Husbandry and Science and Technology, has surrendered his entitlements, including security and official vehicle, as a Cabinet Minister.

Mr. Lone felt slighted after he came to know of the portfolios allocated to him. He had travelled by road all night to reach Jammu for the swearing-in ceremony after he was told by the BJP leadership that he would be given a Cabinet berth.

Mr. Lone, who used to be pro-independence, presented the first major opening to BJP in the Kashmir Valley when he allied with the BJP. He was severely criticised when he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called Mr. Modi as an elder brother. His party won two seats from Kupwara and Handwara in the Assembly elections, and he was hopeful of getting an important role in the government, if the BJP came to power. The five Cabinet Ministers from the BJP were given charge of the Ministries of Power, Urban Development, Industries and Commerce, Health, Forest, and Public Health Engineering, considered relatively more important.

Sources had told The Hindu before the swearing-in ceremony that the PDP was against his inclusion and wanted, at best, to give him the rank of Minister of State. Now, activists from his party are unhappy with both the PDP and the BJP as they were given to understand that he could choose his portfolio.

Meanwhile, sources in the BJP confirmed to The Hindu that Mr. Lone had made his displeasure known to the BJP before returning to Srinagar. “We held a meeting today in which the issue was discussed, but we have reached no decision yet,” a senior BJP leader said.

Source: THI