Srinagar, Oct 30 (HS): The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) on Friday retained Ali Mohammad Sagar as the party’s General Secretary, reversing its earlier decision to appoint senior leader Mubarak Gul to the key organisational post, amid growing discontent within the ruling party over the recent expansion of the Omar Abdullah-led Council of Ministers.

NC President Dr Farooq Abdullah issued a fresh order directing Sagar to continue functioning as General Secretary until further orders.

The development came hours after 18 legislators, including 17 NC MLAs and an Independent MLA, reportedly met in Srinagar to discuss the recent Cabinet expansion and their response to the changes, according to sources. The legislators reportedly met at the residence of an NC legislator in the airport area of Srinagar.

The legislators discussed what sources described as an “unjust cabinet expansion” and reached a consensus to seek the replacement of four ministers who had been part of the government since its formation in October 2024.

The legislators reportedly argued that the four ministers had completed two years in office and should make way for new faces.

The NC’s latest decision also marks a reversal of the organisational arrangement announced on October 27, when Gul was appointed General Secretary after Sagar was inducted into the Council of Ministers. Gul, a senior NC leader and Eidgah MLA, had been given the post after being left out of the Cabinet expansion.

The Cabinet expansion saw four NC legislators—Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mir Saifullah, Shamima Firdous and Altaf Ahmad Wani—take oath as ministers, while Independent MLA Satish Sharma was dropped from the Council of Ministers. The expansion brought the ministry to its maximum permissible strength.

The latest organisational order comes against the backdrop of expressions of disappointment among several senior NC legislators who were not included in the expanded ministry. The gathering of the legislators on Friday has further fuelled speculation about discontent within the ruling party.

The NC, however, has not publicly described the developments as an internal rebellion, and the reasons for the fresh decision to retain Sagar as General Secretary were not stated in the order issued by the party president.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Zahoor Hussain Bhat