His second stint ... and first post abrogation of Article 30 ::::: Omar Abdullah takes oath as J&K Chief Minister, party MLA Surinder Choudhary his deputy :::: Congress stays away from Govt

 

This is Omar Abdullah's second stint as the Chief Minister and he is the first to take office after the scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and the erstwhile state becoming a Union Territory in 2019. 

Ahead of his swearing-in ceremony, Omar Abdullah paid tributes at the mausoleum of National Conference founder and his grandfather Sheikh Abdullah.

Omar Abdullah served as the Chief Minister from 2009 to 2014 when Jammu and Kashmir, then a state, was ruled by the National Conference-Congress alliance.

CONGRESS SAYS WON'T JOIN CABINET FOR NOW

Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra said the party, which won six seats in the Assembly polls, would not join the Cabinet for now citing the demand for restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood.

"The Congress is not joining the ministry in Jammu and Kashmir government at the moment. The Congress has strongly demanded from the Centre to restore Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. Besides, the Prime Minister, has time and again, promised the same in public meetings," Karra said.  

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath to Omar Abdullah at the swearing-in ceremony at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar, which was attended by several Opposition leaders, including Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.