National Conference (NC) Vice President Omar Abdullah was sworn in as Jammu and Kashmir’s new Chief Minister and Surinder Kumar Choudhary as Deputy Chief Minister during a swearing-in ceremony presided over by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in Srinagar on Wednesday (October 16, 2024).
The oath-taking took place at the Sheri-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha administered the oath of office and secrecy to Omar Abdullah and his council of ministers.
A total of five legislators, including Satish Sharma, Sakina Yatoo, Javid Dar, Surinder Kumar Choudhary and Javid Rana, were sworn-in for the Council of Ministers.
Omar Abdullah’s political journey is deeply rooted in the history of Jammu and Kashmir. His grandfather, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, was the first Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir after its accession to India and later served as the Chief Minister.
His father, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, has held the position of Chief Minister three times. Omar himself previously served as Chief Minister of the erstwhile state from 2009 to 2015 and was also the Union Minister of State for External Affairs under former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government from 2001 to 2002.
MEANWHILE, hours after being sworn in as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah directed the union territory’s police to minimize “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.
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. I’m quite happy about the last distinction, as in the one of serving six years. 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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated Omar Abdullah on his swearing-in as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. The Prime Minister extended his best wishes to the National Conference leader and assured that the central government will work closely with the Union Territory for its development.
“Congratulations to Shri Omar Abdullah Ji on taking oath as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. I wish him the very best in his efforts to serve the people. The Centre will work closely with him and his team to ensure J&K’s progress,” PM Modi tweeted.
