Sakina Itoo takes charge as ‘Minister of the People’

Srinagar, Oct 18: Becoming one of the most important faces in the National Conference (NC)-led government, Sakina Itoo was on Friday assigned charge of three ministries, all related to the development of people: Health and Medical Education, Education, and Social Welfare.

This will be her second stint as Minister of Social Welfare, and the first as the Minister of Education and Health and Medical Education.

Itoo was pushed into politics following the assassination of her father Wali Muhammad Itoo, a renowned NC leader and former speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.

She first contested assembly elections in 1996 and won with a handsome margin.

Itoo was then inducted as a Minister of State (MoS) in the Farooq Abdullah-led government.

She was inducted as a cabinet minister in 2009 in Omar Abdullah’s government after she won from the same segment.

In the 2024 assembly polls, NC, in its election manifesto, promised an overhaul of the social welfare schemes to make these more people-friendly.

The goals that she would be working towards include Rs 5000 assistance per month for poor women, 12 free gas cylinders per year for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) families, increase in medical allowance of pensioners from Rs 300 to Rs 1000 and tripling the old age, widow, and disability pensions from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3000.

In the Health and Medical Education sector, her party has promised a robust health infrastructure development and a medical trust with free insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per annum for terminal diseases like cancer, heart, and kidney transplants.

People would also be looking forward to measures that would ensure free education for all females up to the university level and all males up to the college level and travel allowance for college students.

Sakina’s election victory from the Damhal Hanjipora assembly segment in south Kashmir's Kulgam district was a testament to her popularity, polling 36,623 votes and defeating Gulzar Ahmed Dar of the People’s Democratic Party by over 17,000 votes.

Following her induction into the cabinet, Itoo said, “I am honoured to serve the people of J&K and committed to working tirelessly for their welfare.”