Omar Abdullah sworn in as J&K Chief Minister

Congress to not be part of Council of Ministers

Srinagar: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, the first elected government in the Union Territory since 2019 when Article 370 was abrogated.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath of office and secrecy to 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.

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Five Ministers — Sakina Masood (Itoo), Javed Dar, Javed Rana, Surinder Choudhary and Satish Sharma — also took the oath of office.

While Itoo and Dar are from the Kashmir valley, Rana, Choudhary and Sharma are from the Jammu region.

The Congress said it will not join the Council of Ministers for the moment. JKPCC chief Tariq Hameed Karra said the Congress will not join Council of Ministers in J&K for the moment as it is unhappy that statehood has not been restored.

I.N.D.I.A bloc leaders attended the event in full strength.

Among those who had gathered at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (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.

Omar Abdullah’s family, including his father Farooq Abdullah, mother Molly Abdullah, his two sisters and two sons were present on the occasion.

Abdullah was earlier 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 National Conference won 42 out of the 90 seats in the recent elections while alliance partner Congress bagged six.

Together, the two pre-poll allies hold a majority in the 95-member Assembly — five members are to be nominated by the LG.

In 2019, the erstwhile State was bifurcated into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.