Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (J&KNC) leader Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.
Abdullah was administered the oath of office by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at a grand ceremony held at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar.
J&KNC leader Surinder Kumar Choudhary took oath as Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, while his party colleagues Sakina Itoo, Javed Ahmed Rana, Javed Ahmad Dar were sworn in as Cabinet ministers. Independent MLA Satish Sharma also took oath as cabinet minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
The event was attended by key opposition leaders from the INDIA bloc, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and other prominent figures such as Supriya Sule(NCP-SP), Prakash Karat(CPI-M), Kanimozhi, and D Raja (Both DMK).
PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, who has had a complex relationship with Abdullah’s party in the past, also attended the ceremony.
Ahead of the swearing-in, J&KNC Vice President Omar Abdullah, and now Chief Minister, visited the revered Hazratbal Shrine, where he offered prayers for the peace and prosperity of Jammu and Kashmir.
He also paid homage at the Mazarat-e-Anwar of Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Abdullah and Madar-e-Meharban Begum Akbar Jahan at the Quaid Mazar in Naseem Bagh, Srinagar.
In a brief address before taking the oath, Abdullah reiterated his long-standing call to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
“J&K is a Union Territory, which is unfortunate in itself. But I have always maintained that our status as a Union Territory is temporary. We have commitments from the government of India that statehood will be restored,” he said.