Decision to drop me from J-K state cabinet came as surprise: Haseeb Drabu

Senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and sacked Jammu and Kashmir Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu on Tuesday said the decision taken by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to sack him from his post came as a surprise.

Drabu's statement comes a day after he was removed from his post over terming Kashmir problem "a social issue and not a political one".

However, PDP leader said that he was not given any chance to explain his side of the story and added that he bore ill will against no one.

In a statement issued by Drabu on Tuesday, he said "The decision to drop me did come as a surprise but what was shocking was the manner and method of communicating it. While I understand and accept the decision of the party, to talk to media before talking to me, was painful. I was not accorded the opportunity to explain the context and the content of my speech".

"I have no formal or even personal communication either from the government or from the party about my being dropped from the Cabinet on March 12. I stand informed by the media first as a speculation then as a fact. I deem it necessary to set the record straight," the statement added.

Further clarifying on the speech, Drabu stated that "My speech focused on the role of civil society in resolving the issue of Kashmir. I tried to make the point that Kashmir was not only a political issue to be resolved by the nation state of India and the successive governments at the centre and the state, but that there is a social issue that needs to be resolved at the level of the civil society.