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Sonia saw the logic of my argument: Omar

Special Correspondent

Omar will take oath on January 5
Congress yet to name person for deputy CM’s post

NEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister-designate Omar Abdullah on Friday ruled out a rotational arrangement for governance with the Congress.

Though the possibility of the two parties leading the coalition for three years each was discussed, he said Congress president Sonia Gandhi had seen his logic that such an arrangement would be damaging to any alliance.

Briefing journalists after his second meeting in two days with the Congress central leadership at External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s South Block office here, Mr. Abdullah said there was no disagreement between the two parties on this issue.

That a rotational arrangement was inimical to a healthy coalition was conceded by a senior Congress leader in the thick of the discussions.

“It is a source of constant bickering.”

Mr. Abdullah will take oath on January 5 along with five others — two from the National Conference and three from the Congress. The names of the early entrants in the ministry were not disclosed by either side.

The Congress is yet to zero in on a name for Deputy Chief Minister.

While stating that it was for the Congress to decide on who it wanted to send to the Council of Ministers, Mr. Abdullah was categorical that he did not want any tainted individual in his team.

Refusing to comment on the nature of the discussions with the Congress, he said the National Conference made its position clear and was certain that the Congress would take note of its concerns.

Including the Chief Minister, the Council of Ministers can have 25 members. This limit on size was introduced by the Ghulam Nabi Azad dispensation.

Whether the National Conference and the Congress will split the Ministry equally is not yet clear.

The Congress will also have to accommodate its pre-poll allies — three have been elected — in its kitty.

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