Srinagar. Omar Abdullah has become the first Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir after becoming a Union Territory. He has been the Chief Minister before also but at that time Jammu and Kashmir was a full state. On Wednesday, in the presence of many opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath of office to Omar Abdullah as the Chief Minister. Congress, which had fought the elections in alliance with the National Conference, did not join the government. Along with Omar Abdullah, a Deputy Chief Minister and four other ministers also took oath.
Omar Abdullah made it clear in his first message after becoming the Chief Minister that the people of Jammu should not understand that their voice is not included in the government. He also said that he will not fill all the nine ministerial posts and will talk to Congress so that it is included in the government. Omar Abdullah promised to reduce VIP facilities after becoming the Chief Minister and said that no green corridor should be made on the road or route should be laid for them. He has also asked ministers to do the same.
However, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi were present at the oath ceremony of Omar Abdullah. Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav also attended the oath ceremony. Rajya Sabha MP from Arvind Kejriwal’s party Sanjay Singh participated in the oath ceremony. Congress has supported the government from outside. The party says that its fight will continue until Jammu and Kashmir gets statehood. It is noteworthy that only six Congress MLAs have won. The party has elected Ghulam Ahmed Mir as the leader of the legislature party. He is also in-charge of Jharkhand.
Nowshera MLA Surender Chaudhary has been made the Deputy Chief Minister along with Omar Abdullah. In the assembly elections, he defeated state BJP President Ravindra Raina by more than 78 votes. Apart from him, another Hindu minister Satish Sharma has been made in the government, he won as an independent from Chhamb seat and has supported the National Conference government. After these, Omar Abdullah has made DS Pora MLA Sakina Ittu, Mendhar MLA Javed Rana and Javed Ahmed Dar, who won the election from Rafiabad, as ministers. He has become MLA for the first time.
After Omar Abdullah took oath as Chief Minister, BJP expressed hope that he will restore peace. Party state president Ravinder Raina said- I congratulate Omar Abdullah, who has taken oath as the new Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. I also congratulate his council of ministers. I hope that they will work to establish peace in Jammu and Kashmir and resolve the issues faced by the people. On the other hand, PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti said- I congratulate the people of Jammu and Kashmir, because they have got a stable government after a long time. After August 5, 2019, it was a very difficult time for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. We hope that the government that is formed will be the first to heal the wounds and solve the problems and sufferings of the people.