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Omar Abdullah takes oath as first chief minister of UT of Jammu and Kashmir
Omar Abdullah took oath as the first CM of J&K. The ministers who took oath are Sakina Itoo, Javeed Rana, Surinder Choudhary, Javeed Dar and Satish Sharma.
Omar Abdullah on Wednesday took oath as the first chief minister of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir following the victory of his National Conference in the maiden assembly election after the abrogation of Article 370.
The oath ceremony of the chief minister and his council of ministers was held at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar.
The chief minister and his ministers were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha.
Omar Abdullah, who takes over as chief minister for a second term and is the third generation of the Abdullah family to occupy the office – after his grandfather Sheikh Abdullah and father Farooq Abdullah.
INDIA Bloc leaders attended the event in full strength. Among those who had gathered at the SKICC were Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Mallikarjun Kharge, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Left leaders Prakash Karat and D Raja, DMK's Kanimozhi and NCP's Supriya Sule. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti also attended the event.
The Congress, however, said it has decided not to join the council of ministers in the newly formed Jammu and Kashmir government as the party was “unhappy” that statehood was not restored to the Union territory.
In a statement, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Tariq Hameed Karra said the Congress has strongly demanded from the Centre to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, besides Prime Minister Narendra Modi has time and again in public meetings promised the same.
"But, the statehood has not been restored to J-K. We are unhappy, therefore, we are not joining the ministry at the moment," he said.
Karra, however, said the Congress would continue to fight for the restoration of statehood to J&K.
Omar Abdullah has been unanimously elected leader of the NC Legislature Party. His first term as chief minister was from 2009 to 2014 when Jammu and Kashmir was a full-fledged state.
The ministers who took oath are Sakina Itoo, Javeed Rana, Surinder Choudhary, Javeed Dar and Satish Sharma.
Security has been tightened around the venue of the swearing-in ceremony, the officials said.
This will be the first elected government in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganisation of the former state into two Union Territories.
The 90 seats in the region were contested in a three-phase election, with the results announced on October 8. NC-Congress alliance secured 48 seats, with the NC leading the alliance to victory, as the Congress won only six seats.
