Expelled PDP ministers Basharat Bukhari and Peer Mohammad Hussain join National Conference

Srinagar: A day after being expelled from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former ministers Basharat Bukhari and Peer Mohammad Hussain joined the National Conference (NC) in Srinagar on Wednesday. [caption id=“attachment_5759121” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Bukhari and Hussain joined the National Conference at party president Farooq Abdullah’s residence. Image credit:Twitter/@JKNC_[/caption] The two leaders were expelled by PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday on the recommendation of a disciplinary committee headed by party vice-president Abdul Rehman Veeri. Bukhari and Hussain joined the National Conference at the simple function at party president Farooq Abdullah’s residence, where vice-president Omar Abdullah was also present. Bukhari, a two-time MLA from Sangrama, is the elder brother of slain journalist Shujaat Bukhari, who was fatally shot along with two security officers by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists in June. He was the law minister in the PDP-BJP coalition government, headed by the late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. He became the revenue, relief and rehabilitation minister when the government was led by Mehbooba Mufti. Hussain, a former MLA from Shangus constituency, was a minister during the PDP-Congress coalition government in 2002. He did not contest elections after 2002 and was appointed as the vice-chairman of the waqf board by the PDP-BJP government.