Modi ‘to include’ Mehbooba Mufti in Cabinet

NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to expand his council of ministers to include a key leader from Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti, sources said, as he looks to win the support of allies to push economic reforms through parliament.
Mehbooba is the daughter of J& K chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and president of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which governs in the state alongside the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), will be inducted into the 65-member council, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Modi is expected to announce the changes — his second reshuffle of the executive body since he stormed to power last May — before he departs for an overseas trip on April 8, the sources said.
The BJP made history in February when it formed a surprise coalition in Jammu & Kashmir with the PDP, the first time the party has had a role in governing the Muslim-majority state.
The PDP’s decision last month to release from prison a leading separatist — Masarat Alam — angered opposition politicians and embarrassed Modi just as he is struggling to get key pieces of his economic reform agenda passed in Parliament. (Reuters)