'No Threat To State Government': Farooq Abdullah Dismisses Rebellion Buzz

The week-long rumblings in the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference came to an end today after a group of disgruntled MLAs met party head Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Farooq Abdullah said all the concerns raised by the MLAs were genuine and promised to address them. He said rumours of a split in the party were unfounded, that the party is one and would fight for restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's special status and statehood.

"The rumours about the National Conference being split in factions are unfounded. The party is united and those who think that this party can be broken should know that it can never be broken. The concerns raised by the MLAs are genuine. Some of them will be addressed immediately and some will be addressed in a phased manner," Farooq Abdullah told reporters.

After emerging from a two-hour-long meeting, the 14 MLAs said they remained loyal to the party.

"I would prefer to die rather than leave the National Conference," MLA Abdul Majid Larmi said. He was the first to raise the banner of revolt against the recent state cabinet reshuffle.

Mubarak Gul, a seven-time MLA from Srinagar who was also up in arms against the party leadership following the cabinet reshuffle, said he stands with the party leadership.

"We are with the leadership. We are one and we trust them," he said.

At least 18 of the 41 National Conference MLAs had demanded  sweeping reforms in government and organisational functioning, accountability and the removal of the chief minister's key aide.

Besides the removal of Nasir Aslam Wani as the adviser to the chief minister, the MLAs had demanded that Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Chowdhry be divested of the public works department portfolio immediately. They accused Chowdhry of alleged "misconduct and corruption" and called for an independent and impartial examination of the allegations.

The disgruntled MLAs expressed concern over "growing disconnect between expectations of people and functioning of the government" and flagged alleged misgovernance, lack of accountability and lack of consultation with the elected representatives.

Demanding the removal of Wani as adviser to the chief minister, the dissenters have accused the adviser for the "growing disconnect between the party leadership, elected representatives and the government."

The dissenters have demanded the replacement of non-performing ministers, the implementation of the election manifesto and a renewed fight for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's special status and statehood.

Since last week, the group has held four meetings and announced to fight for the "reforms" in the National Conference and seek accountability on governance.

"We have taken an oath to fight for internal democracy in the party. We want accountability, a roadmap for the implementation of the party manifesto and empowerment of MLAs," said an MLA.

The MLAs said they are not rebels and only want to strengthen the party.

"We are not rebels... Everyone in the meeting wanted the party to remain united. We are only asking for accountability and not allowing the party and the government to be treated as a fiefdom of some individuals," said a senior leader.

He said the MLAs have taken an oath and resolved to push for reforms in the party.