Omar Abdullah divests minister of education portfolio

Jammu : Within hours of Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed sending his resignation letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday evening, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah divested him of the school education portfolio.

Peerzada had resigned following charges that his son had used unfair means to get through the Class 10 examination in 2009.

The minister had not sent his resignation to the chief minister and the Congress high command is yet to take a decision on the resignation. He had sent his resignation to Sonia Gandhi, saying he had no faith in the chief minister, family and party sources said Friday.

An official spokesman around midnight sent an official handout saying, “Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has divested Peerzada Muhammad Syeed of the portfolio of School Education. The said portfolio will remain with the chief minister till further orders.”

Inside Congress circles, it is being seen as a retaliation by the chief minister to Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed’s ‘act of not sending the resignation to the chief minister, even after he was asked by the party high command to “follow the proper channel” of sending it first to the head of the government .

The minister had also made some uncharitable remarks against the chief minister, recalling his role in the mysterious death of a National Conference worker Mohammad Yousuf in police custody in September last year.