Jammu, April 29: The much-awaited reshuffle of the Jammu and Kashmir coalition ministry will be done on Monday, with Governor N.N. Vohra on Sunday extending a formal invitation for the event.
The swearing-in of new Ministers in Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's Cabinet by the Governor is scheduled to held at noon at the Convention Centre instead of Raj Bhavan as all government offices here shut down on Saturday ahead of a six-month sojourn in summer capital Srinagar.
Vohra extended invitation to state Ministers, legislators and the media for the event.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) sources said that no new faces from the party will be inducted in the Council of Ministers.
One ministerial berth that fell vacant after the dropping of then Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu from the Council of Ministers will not be filled by the ruling party now.
The sources, however, did not rule out minor reallocation of portfolios among the PDP Ministers.
Its coalition partner Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to induct some new faces and also withdraw some of its Ministers from the Council of Ministers.
The names doing the rounds for ministerial berths include BJP state unit President Sat Sharma, Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta, Sukhnandan Choudhary, Shakti Parihar, Rajesh Jasrota, and Ravinder Raina.
BJP's junior Minister Sunil Sharma is likely to be elevated to Cabinet rank.
The reshuffle was due ever since two BJP Ministers Choudhary Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga were asked to resign due to a controversy over their participation in a Hindu Ekta Manch rally in support of the accused in the Kathua rape-murder case.
The BJP had sought and received resignations of all party Ministers in the Council of Ministers though only two were forwarded to the Chief Minister.
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Hindu Ekta Sammelanams in Kerala mask sangh outreach through temple gatherings
Kochi: Temple premises in several parts of Kerala have been increasingly organizing programs calling for Hindu unity as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh celebrates its centenary year with outreach events across the country.
The News Minute reported that one such programme held on February 28 near Edappally in Kochi began with traditional performances, including chenda melam and a Thiruvathira dance at the Anjumana Devi temple ground, and transitioned into a “Hindu Ekta Sammelanam”. Organisers were quoted as saying that the objective of the event was “to bring together members of different Hindu communities by transcending caste, regional and linguistic differences.”
The RSS is celebrating its centenary year by nationwide series of conferences. These began on October 2, 2025. Reports indicate that more than one lakh such meetings are planned across India in 2026, with over 1,000 events scheduled in Kerala between February and March.
At the Edappally programme representatives of the Hindu Aikya Vedi and other spiritual leaders expressed their thoughts. Hindu Aikya Vedi state president R V Babu said the events are organised to strengthen a sense of unity among Hindus and encourage people to move beyond caste divisions.
Participants at the gathering included members of various organisations such as the Nair Service Society, Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam and representatives of other community groups. Some attendees said they viewed the events primarily as religious or cultural programmes organised around temples in their localities.
Criticizing the gatherings, leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said that temple premises are being used to advance a political agenda under the cover of religious and cultural programs. The party’s youth wing, the Democratic Youth Federation of India, has opposed some of the events at the local level, arguing that religious spaces should not become platforms for ideological mobilisation.
Some attendees clarified that they participated viewing the programmes as temple-based community events rather than political meetings. Others acknowledged that discussions during the sessions included references to electoral participation and broader social themes.
Similar objections were raised in Kozhikode district, where local CPI(M) workers opposed a gathering linked to a temple committee. He argued that religious spaces should not be used for political mobilization, when Kerala is expected to go to Assembly polls in 2026.
