Omar Abdullah sworn in as J&K Chief Minister; Congress opts out of govt, to support from outside

Srinagar: National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the first Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory on Wednesday.

The oath of office was administered by the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) Srinagar.

Surindar Kumar Choudhary was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory.

The Lt Governor also administered the oath of office to four Cabinet Ministers of the new government, including Satish Sharma, Sakina Itoo, Javid Ahmad Dar, and Javid Rana.

Congress did not join the ministry and extended the support to the Omar Abdullah-led government in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Chief Tariq Hameed Karra on Wednesday said, “We are unhappy; therefore, we are not joining the ministry at the moment." The JKPCC Chief added, “The Congress Party shall continue to fight for the restoration of statehood.”

The Congress Party has strongly demanded from the Centre to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, as the Prime Minister has time and again in public meetings promised the same. But the statehood has not been restored to J&K, Karra said.

Among others, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav, CPI leader D Raja, former Raw Chief A S Dulat, Farooq Abdullah, Prof. Saif-ud-Soz, and several political and government officials attended the ceremony.

Jammu and Kashmir gets the first Chief Minister in a decade and after the abrogation of special status to the erstwhile state under Article 370 and 35A on August 5, 2019.

The elections to the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory were held in three phases from September 18, 25, and October 1, and the results were declared on October 8, in which the National Conference bagged 42 seats, followed by Bharatiya Janata Party 29, Congress 6, one each to CPIM, AAP, and PC, and 7 independents also made it to the new assembly.

The National Conference, which is a partner of the INDIA alliance, contested the election in alliance with the Congress in Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier, ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, Omar hoped that the status of a union territory was a temporary one.

“We look forward to working in cooperation with the central government to resolve the people’s problems, and the best way to do that would be to start by restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir," Omar told the media.

"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 Jammu and Kashmir, Omar said.

Omar also visited the grave of his grandparents at the banks of Dal Lake Naseem Bagh to pay tributes and paid obeisance at the revered Hazratbal Shrine before taking oath of office as Chief Minister.