Omar takes oath as CM, Cong sits out of govt

Omar Abdullah on Wednesday took oath as the first chief minister of the Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir along with five ministers in Srinagar but his pre-poll ally Congress sat out of the cabinet due to a disagreement over the number of portfolios.

The ceremony was attended by a bevy of Opposition leaders representing various members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) in a show of strength by the Opposition. The Congress, too, played down reports of differences and said it continued to support the National Conference (NC)-led government.

Congress leaders said they support the government, but did not specify in what capacity.

Abdullah, the vice-president of the NC, took charge of the first elected government in the restive region in a decade, and also the first since it was stripped of its semi-autonomous status and statehood in 2019.

He inducted three leaders from Jammu – including Nowshera lawmaker Surinder Choudhary as his deputy – and two from Kashmir in what was seen as a balancing act between the two regions of the UT.

But the Congress’s decision to sit out of the council of ministers for now cast a shadow over the ceremony though party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandi Vadra attended the event. The leaders insisted that differences – the Congress wanted two berths but was assured of one – will be ironed out soon. They also underlined the Congress’s support to Abdullah.

The UT ministerial council can have a maximum of nine members, including the chief minister.

“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 Jammu & Kashmir. 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,” the new chief minister said before the ceremony at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC).

“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 Jammu & Kashmir,” Abdullah added.

He also said there were three vacancies and “they will gradually be filled”.

The swearing-in marks an impressive comeback for Abdullah, 54, who lost the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year in a shock result but then led the NC to its highest tally in a generation in the recently concluded assembly elections. The NC won 42 out of the 90 seats and the Congress won six. With the support of six MLAs from Congress, one MLA from pre-poll ally CPI(M), one from the Aam Aadmi Party, and five independents, the alliance is comfortable even if the lieutenant governor nominates five additional members, pushing the halfway mark to 48.

Among those who attended the event were Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Left leaders Prakash Karat and D Raja, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s Kanimozhi, Nationalist Congress Party’s Supriya Sule and Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his wishes to Abdullah. “Congratulations to Omar Abdullah Ji on taking oath as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Wishing him the very best in his efforts to serve the people. The Centre will work closely with him and his team for J&K’s progress,” Modi said.

Abdullah thanked him. “My colleagues & I look forward to working together with you to give the people of J&K an effective, efficient & honest administration,” he wrote on X.

Apart from Choudhury, National Conferencelawmakers Sakina Itoo, Javeed Ahmad Rana, Javeed Ahmad Dar, and independent lawmaker Satish Sharma took oath. Choudhury was the NC’s only Hindu legislator from the Jammu region and defeated BJP’s J&K president Ravinder Raina.

People aware of the matter said the Congress sought two ministries but was only offered one .A Congress leader said that top NC and Congress leaders will discuss the issue and try to hammer out a solution after Abdullah’s swearing-in ceremony. “Maybe Congress ministers will be accommodated after a few days,” added the leader, requesting anonymity.

But the top Congress leadership insisted on projecting unity. “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,” Kharge said.

Former minister Ghulam Ahmad Mir said Congress ministers would not take oath until statehood is restored. He maintained that Congress supported the government and rejected reports of differences with the NC. “We did not contest assembly elections for Cabinet berths...our priority is statehood and the welfare of our people.”

J&K Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra said the Congress strongly demanded the restoration of statehood. He added the Prime Minister promised the same but the statehood was not restored. “We are unhappy therefore we are not joining the ministry...Congress shall continue to fight for the restoration of statehood.”

Abdullah began the day by visiting Kashmir’s most revered shrine, Dargah Hazratbal. Inside the serene environs of Hazratbal, Omar sat on the carpeted floor and appeared deep in meditation. Outside, he was showered with toffees by some women.

He also visited the mausoleum of his late grandfather Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, the founder of the NC and former prime minister of J&K.

Jammu & Kashmir was without an elected government since 2018. The NC-Congress alliance last governed the region from 2009 to 2014.