Omar Abdullah sworn in as J&K CM; Congress won’t join govt for now

Jammu Kashmir National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah took oath as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir in Srinagar on Wednesday (October 16).

Surinder Chaudhary, who defeated BJP’s J&K chief Ravinder Raina in the Nowshera Assembly segment of the Pir Panjal region of Jammu, was sworn in as deputy chief minister.

The other ministers who were sworn in are Sakeena Itoo, MLA from DH Pora in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district, Javed Ahmed Rana, MLA from the ST-reserved Mendhar seat in Poonch district of Jammu division’s Pir Panjal, Javid Ahmad Dar, MLA from Rafiabad in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district, and Satish Sharma, independent MLA from Chhamb in Jammu district.

Sharma had rebelled against the Congress’s decision to field former deputy CM and Dalit leader Tara Chand from Chhamb and contested the seat as an independent. Tara Chand had finished a distant third in the Chhamb contest.

The Congress will not join the government as of now.

Oath-taking ceremony 

The oath-taking ceremony was held at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre, Srinagar. Omar Abdullah and his council of ministers were administered the oath by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.

This is the first elected government of Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganisation of the state into two Union Territories.

Region-wise, Omar is from central Kashmir, Chaudhary is from Jammu, and there is one minister each from Jammu division’s Pir Panjal and plains, and one each from north and south Kashmir. There are four Muslims, including one tribal, and two Hindus.

Also Read: President's rule revoked in J-K, stage set for new govt to take charge

Omar, a former Member of Parliament, was the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir from 2009 to 2015. Prior to that, he had served as a union minister of external affairs from 2001-2002 in the NDA government of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Omar’s father Farooq Abdullah was the chief minister of J&K for three terms, while Omar’s grandfather, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was the first Prime Minister of J&K after its accession to India and later served as the Chief Minister.

Jammu and Kashmir has been under President’s rule since 2018 after the BJP withdrew its support to the coalition government it was running with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of Mehbooba Mufti.

Also Read: Bad decisions, dull campaign: How Congress ‘gifted’ Jammu to BJP

President’s rule was withdrawn on October 13, paving the way for the formation of an elected government. The Congress-National Conference coalition won 48 seats in the recently-concluded assembly polls, with the NC winning 42 seats and the Congress 6.

We have a lot to do: Omar

Ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, Omar Abdullah offered prayers at the grave of his grandfather Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah in Srinagar.

He told reporters that his government has a lot to do for the people of the region.

“We have a lot to do. We have to give people the hope that this is their government and they will be heard. They were not being heard for the last 5-6 years. It will be our responsibility to listen to them and act on it,” he said.

Also Read: JK: Challenges galore for Omar as new government set to take over

“I have some strange distinctions. I was the last chief minister to serve a full six-year term. Now I’ll be the first chief minister of the union territory of J&K. The last distinction, as in the one of serving six years, I’m quite happy about. Being the CM of a union territory is a different matter altogether. It has its own challenges. I hope that the status of a union territory is a temporary one. We look forward to working in cooperation with the government of India to resolve the people’s problems and the best way to do that would be to start by restoring statehood to J&K,” he added.

INDIA bloc leaders attend ceremony

A host of INDIA bloc leaders were present for the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his ministers.

Among the guests who attended were the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) working president Supriya Sule, Communist Party of India (Marxist) central committee’s interim leader Prakash Karat, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) deputy general secretary Kanimozhi, and CPI general secretary D Raja.

(With agency inputs)