Omar to replace Farooq loyalists

He plans to bring in some fresh faces to his cabinet. As a result, it appears that Union minister and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah and some of his close allies may lose their grip on the government and the National Conference (NC).

Farooq, who is Omar's father, may be asked to step down from the NC presidency, while his close relative Sheikh Nazir Ahmad will also be removed from the post of party general secretary.

Omar started executing his plan after he directed the state vigilance commissioner to investigate the charges against some of his ministers. A Srinagar-based newspaper in its report had stated that some of the ministers were involved in large-scale corruption. It also said that a minister has bought a villa in Dubai for Rs 120 crores. While that report did not reveal the minister's name, another newspaper later claimed that he was Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather.

Despite being a senior figure in the NC with six straight triumphs in the elections, Rather was not a favourite of Omar from the beginning. So also was senior Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar, who has Rural Development, Law and Parliamentary Affairs portfolios.
The chief minister is also said to be targeting some of the members of his government loyal to Union Health Minister Gulam Nabi Azad and has spoken to the Congress high command recently.

Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, an Azad loyalist, is said to be high on the list of replacements. Omar had also briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chair Person Sonia Gandhi on his plans when he visited the national capital in the aftermath of the corruption charges against his ministers.  Farooq and Sheikh Nazir Ahmad are expected to lose their positions at the NC working committee meeting which Omar has convened for Thursday.