New Delhi: With Congress opting to stay out of the government, National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah on Wednesday took oath as the first chief minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir following his party’s victory in the recently held maiden assembly election. This also marks the first elected government in the region following the abrogation of Article 370.
Omar has appointed Nowshera MLA Surinder Kumar Choudhary, a former BJP leader who joined NC in the recent past, as the deputy chief minister in the J&K government, saying he did so to give a voice to people of the region and make his government inclusive.
Soon after assuming office, Omar said he had asked the J&K police chief to avoid setting up any ‘green corridor’ or traffic stoppage when he (Omar) or his ministers move anywhere by road. Omar said he instructed the DGP to minimize public inconvenience and ensure the use of sirens was minimal.
Earlier in the day, the oath ceremony of the chief minister and his council of ministers was held at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) on the banks of Dal Lake. J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath of office and secrecy to Omar and five of his ministers including Sakina Masood (Itoo), Javed Dar, Javed Rana, Surinder Choudhary, and Satish Sharma. While Itoo and Dar are from the Kashmir valley, Rana, Choudhary and Sharma are from the Jammu region. The Congress, meanwhile, said it would not join the council of ministers for the moment as it was unhappy that statehood had not been restored.
Security was tightened around the venue of the swearing-in ceremony since a lot of VVIPs attended the event. Omar was unanimously elected the leader of the NC Legislature Party on October 10, setting the stage for his second term as chief minister. His first term, from January 2009 to January 2015 when Jammu and Kashmir was a full-fledged state, was also under an NC-Congress coalition government.
The NC won 42 out of the 90 seats that went to the poll in the recent elections, while the Congress won six. Together, the two pre-poll allies hold a majority in the 95-member assembly — five members are to be nominated by the LG.
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