Omar Abdullah sworn in as new CM of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir; Surinder Kumar Choudhary to be his deputy

It’s the second term of Omar Abdullah as Chief Minister after 2009; none of the elected members of the Congress took oath today ‘as a mark of protest for the restoration of the Statehood’

National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah was sworn in as J&K’s new Chief Minister and Surinder Kumar Choudhary, a prominent face from the Jammu region, as Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) during a swearing-in ceremony presided over by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in Srinagar on Wednesday (October 16, 2024).

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 at Srinagar’s Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC). Mr. Choudhary had defeated BJP leader Ravinder Raina from Jammu’s Nowshera constituency.

Also read | Omar Abdullah: A son rises over the valley

It’s the second term of Mr. Abdullah as Chief Minister after 2009. He has also earned the distinction of becoming the first and relatively weak Chief Minister of UT of J&K, after the Centre ended the region’s ‘special status’ in 2019 and granted more powers to the L-G. 

“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. The last distinction, as in the one of serving six years, I’m quite happy about. Being a CM of a Union Territory is a different matter altogether. It has its own challenges. I hope that the status of a Union Territory is a temporary one,” Mr. Abdullah said, just ahead of the swearing-in ceremony.

The Union Territory (UT) of J&K has just 10 Ministerial berths, including Chief Minister. None of the six Congress legislators took oath.

“None of the elected members took oath before J&K L-G Sinha. It is a mark of our protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not restoring Statehood to J&K,” Ghulam Ahmad Mir, Congress legislative party leader, said.

Meanwhile, several leaders of the INDIA bloc attended the swearing ceremony in Srinagar. Top leaders of the Congress, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi, were present during the swearing in ceremony. Besides, Samajwadi Party president and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat were also present. Members of Parliament Kanimozhi Karunanidhi and Supriya Sule also attended the ceremony.

Published - October 16, 2024 11:39 am IST