‘Felt incomplete’: Rahul Gandhi after Omar Abdullah sworn in as Jammu & Kashmir CM

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah took oath as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.

Updated on: Oct 16, 2024, 18:47:26 IST

By HT News Desk

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Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday congratulated National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah on his swearing-in as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, marking the return of an elected government to the Union Territory.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, CPI leader D Raja, AAP leader Sanjay Singh and others during the oath-taking ceremony of Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, in Srinagar. (PTI)

In his message, Gandhi also reiterated the demand for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood, which was revoked in 2019.

"Congratulations to CM Omar Abdullah and to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. However, government formation without statehood felt incomplete today," Rahul Gandhi posted on X (formerly Twitter). "Democracy was snatched from the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and today we renew our pledge to continue our fight until statehood is fully restored."

Abdullah replied: “Thank you very much Rahul Gandhi & thank you for joining us today. The people of J&K look towards you for your continued support as we work to get our statehood back. Your presence today along with Priyanka Gandhi gave us a lot of encouragement & the family was really happy to get to spend some time with both of you.”

Also Read | Omar’s balancing act as five-member cabinet takes charge in J&K

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress general secretary, also took to X to extend her congratulations to Omar Abdullah and the members of his newly formed cabinet.

"Many congratulations to the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr. Omar Abdullah ji, and all the members of his cabinet. Thank you to the people of Jammu and Kashmir for raising the voice of justice and democracy with the power of your vote. Best wishes for the future," she wrote.

"The 'INDIA' coalition government will work with full dedication to restore the pending rights of the people as well as to fulfil all its promises and people's aspirations," she added, in an obvious reference to J&K's statehood.

Also Read | 'No stick waving...': Omar Abdullah's first order to Jammu and Kashmir police

Omar Abdullah took the oath of office at a ceremony in Srinagar, administered by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. This marks Abdullah's second term as chief minister, and he now leads the first elected government in Jammu and Kashmir since its reorganization into a Union Territory following the abrogation of Article 370.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by several leaders of the INDIA bloc, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Prakash Karat of CPI(M), and Supriya Sule of the NCP.

Also Read | Sakina Itoo, whose father was killed by terrorists, is sole woman minister in Omar Abdullah's J&K cabinet

No Congress MLA in cabinet

Omar Abdullah's new cabinet includes five ministers, with Surinder Choudhary from Jammu as the deputy chief minister.

Replying to a question about the non-inclusion of any Congress MLA in his cabinet, Omar Abdullah said the national party is not out of the cabinet.

“It is for the Congress to decide. We have been in discussions with them. Principally around the fact that as a UT with a unicameral house, we don’t have the upper house. Therefore, the size of the government is severely restricted. Gone are the days when you would see 40 or 45 ministers," he said.

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