Can't say whether crisis averted: Omar on NC-Congress tussle

"I cannot say whether the crisis has been averted," Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Thursday about the tussle with his coalition partner, the Congress, over the creation of new administrative units in the state.

Omar's cryptic remark came two days ahead of a crucial meeting of his cabinet in Jammu at which a report of a cabinet sub-committee on such units will be considered amidst reports that the issue had snowballed into a confrontation between coalition partners.

Voicing his keenness for establishment of the units, Omar told PTI, "I only hope that this people friendly move sees the light of the day."

"Any decision will be taken on February 1 when the state cabinet meets," he added.

Omar and his party, the National Conference, are pressing for creation of 700 new administrative units for better governance, a move the Congress was said to be stonewalling earlier. However, the Congress now favours creation of as many as 2,100 such units on grounds of a "more equitable distribution" among various regions.

Speaking in the larger context of the alliance between the NC and the Congress, Omar asserted, "We are not fair weather friends."

The difference over administrative units had to be "subsumed" into wider discussion about the United Progressive Alliance and where it will go forward, Omar said, adding if the issue was resolved there should be no speculation about NC's future with the UPA.