Srinagar: The elevation of a senior leader of the ruling National Conference (NC), Nasir Aslam Wani, to the rank of a cabinet minister has drawn flak from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and others in Jammu and Kashmir.In an order on Saturday (January 24), the General Administration Department (GAD) said that Wani “shall have the rank and status of cabinet minister” of J&K with Rs 80,000 consolidated salary, residential accommodations in the twin capitals along with free transport services which will be provided by the motor garages department. The GAD noted that Wani’s elevation has been cleared by the “order of the lieutenant governor” of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha. The order was issued more than a year after Wani was named as ‘advisor to the chief minister J&K’ by the GAD on October 16, 2024, stating: “The terms and conditions of the appointment shall be notified separately.”A former lawmaker from Srinagar’s Khanyar who lost the 2024 assembly election from Kupwara constituency in north Kashmir, Wani is a close friend of J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah and a senior leader of the ruling party. The two are often seen together at public and private functions in and outside the country.However, Wani’s induction into the government has sparked allegations of nepotism against the NC. It has also revived questions about the alleged failure of the elected government in delivering on the promises made by the ruling party in the 2024 election manifesto. In a cryptic post containing an image of the order issued by the GAD on Saturday, the PDP which is headed by Mehbooba Mufti linked Wani’s elevation to one of the promises in the NC’s election manifesto that called for restoration of Article 370.“Article 370 ka hal (Resolution (of the fight) for Article 370)”, the party posted on X.Attacking the Abdullah government, senior PDP leader Naeem Akhtar termed Wani’s elevation as “significant achievement …. given the fact that it’s the only concession granted by Government of India to J&K post the 2019 abrogation”.Akhtar, a PDP ideologue, served as the cabinet minister in the PDP-BJP government which ruled J&K from 2015 to 2018. Wani’s elevation comes days after Abdullah called on Union home minister Amit Shah in the national capital, his third meeting after assuming office in 2024. In a statement on January 21, the chief minister’s office said that “various matters concerning Jammu and Kashmir” were discussed in the meeting. However, the timing of the meeting which took place days ahead of Wani’s elevation evoked mixed reactions in Kashmir. While J&K BJP leader Sheikh Khalid Jehangir said that Wani’s elevation was “a nod” by the Union government “to honesty, ability and nationalist commitment in governance,” former mayor of Srinagar Junaid Mattu implied that Abdullah had discussed the issue in his meeting with Shah. “Nasir Aslam Wani continues to enjoy the cabinet status of a minister without facing or winning an election. Meanwhile, the Omar Abdullah govt’s much-touted employment generation schemes remain on paper. Unemployed youth r still waiting for manifesto promises to turn into real jobs,” Sara Shaheen, a netizen posted on X. The elevation of Wani isn’t the first time that the ruling party has faced accusations of promoting nepotism in the government after coming to power. Months after Abdullah was sworn into office, a cousin of J&K assembly speaker and senior NC leader Abdul Rahim Rather was appointed as a “consultant” in the tourism department after retiring from service.This appointment was apparently in violation of Abdullah’s own directions against “re-employment…and extensions, except in extraordinary circumstances” of the retired officers in the government. The appointment had drawn criticism from some opposition parties in Jammu and Kashmir which has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act under which the erstwhile state was bifurcated and downgraded into a Union Territory in 2019 has no provision for appointing ‘advisor’ to the lieutenant governor or chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.The reorganisation act however grants powers to the Union government to appoint advisors for the lieutenant governor of Ladakh which was downgraded into a Union Territory without a legislature in 2019. NC Leader Nasir Aslam Wani Elevated to Cabinet Rank in J&K, PDP Alleges NepotismBefore the NC government was sworn into office in 2024, some advisors were appointed for J&K’s former lieutenant governor G.C. Murmu before the incumbent Sinha took over.