Srinagar: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday, October 16, expressed happiness over National Conference leader Omar Abdullah taking oath as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and said that the two parties will fight jointly to restore statehood.
Kharge was among a galaxy of INDIA bloc leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and left leaders Prakash Karat and D Raja, DMK’s Kanimozhi and NCP’s Supriya Sule who attended the swearing-in ceremony here.
“We are happy that our alliance partner became the chief minister and it is a big success for J-K. Today, democracy has been restored and we will fight together to strengthen it. We will keep fighting till J-K gets back the statehood,” the Congress president said.
Omar Abdullah sworn in as J-K CM
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.
The 54-year-old Omar Abdullah is upbeat about the mandate the people gave him to become the Chief Minister of J&K for the second time, but there are some pitfalls awaiting him.
Under the J&K Reorganization Act, the state government can have only nine Ministers, including the CM. Omar must ensure representation to both Jammu and Kashmir provinces, and several different ethnicities, given the complexities of the UT, within that limited number.
The house that Omar Abdullah occupied as the chief minister, and was made to vacate after abrogation of Article 370 and revocation of the rule that provided every former chief minister an official accommodation till life, has been freshly painted and refurbished.
He is expected to shift to this residence on the high-security Gupkar Road, a stone’s throw away from the residence of his father, NC Chief and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, on the same street.
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