Omar facing Cong check

His perceived proximity with AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi notwithstanding,Jamp;K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is not having it so easy with ally Congress,which has been asserting itself of late. Having forced the National Conference recently to accept an amendment in favour of Scheduled Castes in the legislation banning inter-district recruitment,the Congress took on Omar who was seeking to acquire exclusive powers in matters of transfer and posting of District Collectors,Senior Superintendents of Police and above,which,under the existing arrangements,are cleared by the Cabinet. The Chief Minister was to bring a proposal to this effect at the state Cabinet meeting last Thursday. Having learnt about the agenda note,the Congress took up the issue with the NC leadership. The two sides finally agreed to refer the issue to a three-member ministerial panel. The NC spin doctors contend that the CM wanted to have a direct say in transfer and posting of bureaucrats after state PWD Minister GM Saroori,who is from the Congress,transferred over 300 engineers en masse.