Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Aug 18: The PDP-BJP Coordination Committee today agreed that various Departments of the Government, held by the Ministers of the two Alliance partners, would have better understanding in future to leave no scope of misunderstanding even as they decided to fill posts of chairpersons and vice chairpersons of more Boards/Corporations in the coming day.
“There was also consensus in the Committee that three portfolios will be allocated to the BJP’s Ministers of State shortly, which were held by the party prior to elevation of two MoS’ as Cabinet Ministers on April 24.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the PDP and BJP Coordination Committee was unanimous for “better coordination” among the Departments held by the two Alliance partners and called for consulting each other on the issues of “importance and sensitive nature”.
“There was broad consensus that there should be ‘better understanding’ among all the Ministers-be they from PDP and BJP and all Ministers should take their colleagues into confidence on the issues of sensitive nature. There should be no unilateral decision of important nature,” sources said.
PDP MPs Muzaffar Hussain Baig and Tariq Hamid Karra were conspicuous by their absence from the Coordination Committee meeting despite prior notice. So was the BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Shamsher Singh, who was preoccupied with a Parliamentary Committee meeting in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The meeting lasted two hours from 6 pm onwards at Hari Niwas after which the BJP Ministers held their separate meeting to discuss the party strategy for tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting.
Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh, chairman of the Coordination Committee, presided over the meeting, which was attended by PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, Haj and Auqaf Minister Abdul Rehman Veeri and Education Minister Naeem Akhter, all from PDP, Jugal Kishore Sharma, BJP president Thupstan Chhewang, MP and Health and Medical Education Minister Choudhary Lal Singh, all from BJP.
Sources said the Coordination Committee was also unanimous on allocation of three portfolios-Rural Development Department, Horticulture and Ladakh Affairs to Ministers of State of the BJP as they were held by BJP’s MoS’-Abdul Ghani Kohli and Chhering Dorjey before they were elevated to the Cabinet rank.
As per the understanding reached in the Coordination Committee, the BJP will name the Ministers of State, who would be allocated the portfolios. The BJP has three Ministers of State-Pawan Gupta, Sunil Sharma and Priya Sethi.
According to sources, there was unanimity among the Coordination Committee members to fill up remaining vacancies of chairpersons and vice chairpersons of various Boards and Corporations. While some of the posts have been filled up, others were pending.
The Coordination Committee in its previous meeting on May 29 had identified 32 Boards/Corporations for appointment as chairpersons and vice chairpersons. The two parties will share the remaining posts of Board and Corporations on 50:50 basis. The appointments will be made on regular intervals, as was being done previously.
Both the parties will finalize their names for the posts of chairpersons/vice chairpersons and forward them to Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. After his approval, the General Administration Department (GAD) will issue the orders of the appointments.
The Coordination Committee also called for immediate convening of the High Power Committee meeting to fill up vacancies in the State Accountability Commission and Backward Classes Commission for which the Panels have already been submitted by the Cabinet Sub Committee.
Sources said the Coordination Committee also decided to expedite implementation of the `Agenda of the Alliance’, which was formed by the two parties before forming the coalition Government.
The two parties decided that the Government should focus on `Agenda of the Alliance’ to implement it. They observed that the good governance, as prescribed by Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, should be implemented in letter and spirit.
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