Drabu Sacked, letter of his exit reaches Raj Bhavan

Jammu: In a tough stand, ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday dropped finance minister Haseeb Drabu from the council of ministers over his remarks that Kashmir “isn’t a political issue” but a society with “social issues.”
Top sources said the PDP shot a letter to Raj Bhavan informing the governor NN Vohra about the decision. “The governor has given his nod to the Chief Minister’s recommendation for sacking the finance minister Drabu”, sources added.
Drabu remark during a function in New Delhi that Kashmir “isn’t a political issue” had earned him ire of the party, opposition, separatist and trade bodies.
On Sunday, the party had asked him to explain his statement, which was “contradictory” to their stand.
PDP Vice President Sartaj Madni had yesterday asked Drabu to retract the statement immediately.
He said the party recognizes Jammu and Kashmir as a political issue and ever since its advent the party has relentlessly been pursuing its resolution through reconciliation and dialogue, both at internal and external levels.
Meanwhile Minister for Education Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari denied the reports of taking charge of finance minister. “I have not taken charge of finance ministry. These are all rumors and one should not pay any heed to it. If any department becomes vacant, it is understood that it goes straight to the Chief Minister.” Bukhari was quoted as saying by local news gathering agency KNS over phone.
Commenting on dropping of Haseeb Drabu, Bukhari said that one should understand that Party’s agenda is supreme. “It is lesson for others not to make such comments, which goes against the interests of the party and people of the state,” Bukhari added.
Reacting to the ouster of Finance Minister haseeb Drabu from the cabinet, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said it would be interesting to see who replaces him.
“His PHDCCI speech cost him dearly. Will be interesting to see who replaces him in the Finance Ministry,” tweeted Omar Abdullah.
PDP sacked Drabu from the cabinet for saying that Jammu and Kashmir “isn’t a political issue”.