The ruling Congress-PDP coalition government in Jammu Kashmir entered into a fresh phase of bonhomie on Monday with senior PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Beig rejoining the Cabinet and another minister Qazi Afzal resuming his duties after nearly three months. Beig was administered the oath of office by Governor Lt General SK Sinha (Retd) at a simple ceremony held at Raj Bhawan in the morning.

Though no portfolio has been assigned to him as yet, Beig has been redesignated Deputy Chief Minister. Soon after the swearing-in ceremony, a beaming Beig said his induction would “further strengthen” the bonds between the coalition partners. “It is a great challenge .....the coalition has a tough task ahead...I would only facilitate smooth relations and the accomplishment of targets in Common Minimum Programme with a deep sense of responsibility,” he told reporters.

Admitting that earlier there were misunderstandings between him and the PDP leadership, he said everything is clear and over now. “It was primarily my fault...I did not keep the high command informed about certain things ...but there were many people in the party who flared and fanned up the misunderstanding, drifting me further away from the leadership”, Beig said with a tone of repentance.

Meanwhile, Qazi Afzal, who did not attend the office for over three months over allocation of portfolio, attended the office on Monday.

On the other hand, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said that he would reshuffle his ministry only after the Poonch bypoll.

He also said the decision to reinduct Beigh was taken by PDP leadership.The Chief Minister denied having any misunderstanding with PDP on any issue, saying, “there were no issues or matters PDP wanted to settle...everything is OK...”