Peoples Conference (PC) legislator Sajad Lone on Tuesday failed to join the newly allocated State Social Welfare Ministry amid reports of his being disappointed over the portfolio.
Sources in the PC said Mr. Lone — who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 and later decided to work closely with the BJP after the polls — was disappointed after “the BJP reneged from its promise made to allocate a more significant portfolio.”
BJP leaders confirmed that Mr. Lone “was disappointed [with the portfolio]” but denied that he resigned as a Minister. Last year too, Mr. Lone left Jammu in a huff after being Animal Husbandry portfolio. Son of the late separatist leader Abdul Ghani Lone, Mr. Lone is the first separatist leader from the Hurriyat to participate in the 2014 polls.
