Farooq to be inducted in first Cabinet expansion

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured Farooq Abdullah that he will be inducted into the Cabinet when the first expansion takes place,J&K chief Minister Omar Abdullah said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured Farooq Abdullah that he will be inducted into the Cabinet when the first expansion takes place,J and K chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Friday.

Singh spoke to Abdullah late on Thursday night amid reports that the National Conference was upset with the Congress for not communicating to it on whether or not he will be part of the Cabinet,Omar told reporters in New Delhi.

Asked whether he was unhappy with the manner in which the Congress on the issue of government formation,he said “the Prime Minister has left no room for us to be angry”.

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Omar had on Thursday stated that the NC was not hankering for any post but it would have been nice if the Congress had informed the party whether Farooq,the NC president,was “in or out”.

Farooq will not be present at the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as he is leaving for South Africa as part of the Indian Cricket Board delegation to witness the last stage of the ongoing IPL cricket tournament.

Earlier,Abdullah said the Prime Minister had last night apprised him of the difficulties the Congress is having with the DMK on the issue of cabinet portfolios.

“The Prime Minister was very kind. He spoke to me last night and said about the difficulties they are having with the DMK. They want to sort that out,” he told reporters.

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National Conference,a UPA ally,has three MPs while an Independent member from Ladakh has pledged support to the party.