Though Governor has the discretionary power to withdraw or allot any portfolio to his any advisor but balance has to be maintained in the allotment of portfolios’ on the principles of equality. Withdrawing key portfolios’ from only advisor of Kashmir valley and allowing him to retain the charge of only insignificant departments shows regional and religious bias even in the allotment of portfolios among the five advisors appointed by the governor so for . Unfortunately the Governor has allowed all the three other non Kashmiri advisors to retain big chunk of key portfolios already allotted to them. Khursheed Ahmad Ganai is fit to hold charge of more key portfolios than the other four advisors keeping even if performance and experience of the advisors is made the only criteria for the distribution of portfolios. The newly appointed advisor has the biggest disqualification of being the leader of a political party presently in power at the centre and as such his political neutrality in discharge of his duties can be questioned on many counts but on the contrary Khursheed Ahmad Ganai the only muslim advisor from Kashmir valley apart from being politically neutral has worked on key positions prior to his retirement from active service. It is for the first time that a man from the political party in power at the centre has been tipped for the position of advisor to governor in Jammu and Kashmir state.
By all standards of understandabilities Governor Satya Pal Malik has shown discrimination in the allotment of portfolios to newly appointed advisor Farooq Ahmad Khan as he has taken away key portfolios from only one advisor Khursheed Ahmad Ganai and allowed the other three to retain all the portfolios they were allotted previously. The only advisor from Kashmir valley Khursheed Ahmad Ganai becoming the only looser in the allotment of portfolios to the newly appointed advisor Farooq Khan shows that neither the incumbent central government nor the Governor Satya Pal Malik have even the least concern about the representation of Kashmir in the team of advisors who are part of the State Administrative Council (SAC) presently enjoying the powers of state cabinet.
