Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 4: Sajjad Gani Lone, younger son of People’s Conference leader Abdul Gani Lone who was assassinated in 2002 in Srinagar, was sworn in as a Minister for a second time in the PDP-BJP Government since he broke ranks with separatists nearly a decade ago.
He has got a Cabinet berth from the BJP quota.
Born on December 9, 1966, Sajjad is the younger son of Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Lone who was assassinated on May 21, 2002 by militants in Eidgah ground of downtown Srinagar.
His father’s killing was a turning point for Lone and though he continued in Hurriyat Conference, he was accused by hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani of fielding proxy candidates in the 2002 Assembly polls.
This led to a vertical split in the separatist amalgam.
He parted ways with his brother Bilal Gani Lone in February 2004 to float his own faction of People’s Conference founded by his father.
Sajjad was elected to the State Assembly from Handwara constituency in the election held in 2014.
He defeated sitting minister Chaudhary Mohammad Ramzan of National Conference.
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