National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the first Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir at a glittering oath ceremony in the Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) on Wednesday. Omar wore a skull cap and a resplendent black sherwani on the occasion.
To balance the regional aspirations Omar Abdullah inducted an equal number of legislators from the Kashmir and Jammu regions.
Nowshera MLA Surinder Choudhary, who turned out to be a giant killer after defeating J&K BJP Chief Ravinder Raina, took oath as Deputy CM, while senior NC leader and MLA from DH Pora, Sakina Itoo, was also inducted into the Cabinet. Alongside them, NC’s Mendhar MLA Javed Rana, MLA Rafiabad Javed Dar and Independent MLA Satish Sharma, son of a former Congress MP Madan Lal Sharma, also took the oath of office. Three more ministers are expected to be inducted into the Council of Ministers.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath of office and secrecy to Omar and five members of the council of ministers. Sinha posed for a group photograph and immediately left the venue of the oath ceremony while guests were still attending a high tea.
Ironically, none of the elected legislators from the Congress party- a pre-poll alliance partner of the National Conference took the oath of office. The Congress party chose to stay away in protest against the denial of ‘statehood’ to Jammu and Kashmir.
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Chief Tariq Hameed Karra said that the Congress party is not joining any Ministry in the newly formed J-K government “at the moment” as despite repeated promises made by the Prime Minister for statehood, it has not been restored.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajanth Singh congratulated Omar Abdullah soon after the oath ceremony. “Congratulations to Shri Omar Abdullah Ji on taking oath as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Wishing him the very best in his efforts to serve the people. The Centre will work closely with him and his team for J&K’s progress,” PM Modi wrote in a post on X.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by several INDIA bloc leaders, including 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. Former RAW Chief AS Daulat, AIP Supremo and Baramulla MP Sheikh Abdul Rashid also attended the ceremony.
DPAP Chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad, Peoples Conference Chairman Sajad Lone, Jammu Kashmir APNI party Chief Altaf Bukhari, and J&K BJP Chief Ravinder Raina remained conspicuous in their absence.
Before the swearing-in ceremony got underway, Dr Farooq Abdullah was seen greeting guests and welcoming them. He hugged his old friends and political leaders and warmly shook hands with them.
In his first comments after taking the oath, the Chief Minister said, “We will not let Jammu feel that they do not have a voice or representation in the current government. We have brought in a Deputy CM to ensure this and this will be our endeavour going forth as well.” Omar also visited the Civil Secretariat complex and occupied the ‘hot seat’ in his office chamber. On his arrival, he was given a customary guard of honour. Omar also chaired a meeting of the administrative secretaries of all the departments.
Omar also directed the union territory’s police to minimise “public inconvenience” during VIP movements. In his first direction to the police, he said they should avoid “stick-waving” and “aggressive gestures” when he moves by road. Omar Abdullah also asked the Jammu and Kashmir police to refrain from creating a green corridor for his movement.
Interacting briefly with the media, Omar said the first task of my government will be to become the voice of the people and expressed optimism that Jammu and Kashmir will not remain a Union territory for a long time and regain full statehood soon.
Before attending his oath ceremony Omar also offered prayers at the revered Hazratbal Shrine and Mazarat-e-Anwar of Sher-e-Kashmir.
Before the oath-taking ceremony, Omar said that he looked forward to working in cooperation with the Union government.
“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 a CM of a Union Territory is a different matter altogether. It has its 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,” Omar Abdullah said.
After attending the oath-taking ceremony of Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah, JKPDP president Mehbooba Mufti said, “Today is a very auspicious day. The people of Jammu and Kashmir have got their government after several years. People have elected a stable government. The people of Jammu and Kashmir suffered a lot after 2019, and we hope that this new government will treat the wounds we have. We hope that the government will pass a resolution condemning the decision of August 5, 2019 (abrogation of Article 370). Apart from this, we also hope that the government will also find ways to resolve issues of unemployment, drug addiction, electricity and others”.
