J-K cabinet to discuss Amarnath shrine board land issue today

Srinagar, July 1 : The Jammu and Kashmir cabinet will meet here today to discuss on the order to hand over 39.88 hectares of land to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).

According to sources, the meeting will be held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

The meeting will be held without People's Democratic Party (PDP) Ministers, who resigned to protest over the proposed land transfer to the shrine board.

The cabinet will also decide on the allocation of portfolios vacated by PDP Ministers.

Meanwhile, the situation in Srinagar continued to be tense but under control with the police and the para-military forces patrolling the streets following a call given by separatist leaders for a rally at the downtown Jama Masjid today.

State Governor N N Vohra on Monday asked Ghulam Nabi Azad to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly by July 7.

Azad has said that he is ready to prove the majority of his government at anytime in the State Assembly.

Earlier, he informed the Governor about the majority he enjoyed on the floor of the house, despite the 18-member PDP withdrawing its support to the Congress- led Government on Saturday over the transfer of forestland to the Amarnath Shrine Board.

The Congress has 21 members in the 87-seat assembly and is backed by two CPM MLAs and eight Independents. The term of the State Government expires on November 2.

The National Panthers Party, which has four members, does not enjoy a good relationship with the government after Azad kept its MLAs out of his ministry.

Only a split in either the National Conference or the PDP may save the State Government, as the BJP and the Jammu Mukti Morcha are unlikely to support the Congress during the floor test.

ANI