Abid Bashir
Srinagar, Oct 14: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Monday invited the Chief Minister designate Omar Abdullah and his council of ministers for administration of Oath of Office at SKICC on October 16.
A letter issued by the Lt Governor from Raj Bhawan, reads: “I am pleased to invite you to form and lead the Government of Jammu and Kashmir. As separately settled, I shall administer Oath of Office and Secrecy to you, and to those recommended by you for induction as members of your Council of Ministers, at SKICC, Srinagar on 16th October, 2024 at 11:30 a.m.”
The letter further states that “I take this opportunity to wish you a highly productive tenure and success in your endeavours in the best interest of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
It said: “I have received a letter of 11th October, 2024 from Dr. Farooq Abdullah, President, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, wherein it has been informed that you have been unanimously elected as Leader of the Legislature Party.”
The letter also states that “I have also received a letter from Tariq Hameed Karra, President, J&K Pradesh Congress Committee, G. N. Malik, Secretary, CPI(M), Shri Pankaj Kumar Gupta, National Secretary, Aam Aadmi Party and Independent MLAs namely, Payare Lal Sharma, Satish Sharma, Ch. Mohd. Akram, Dr. Rameshwar Singh and Muzafar Iqbal Khan, offering support in the formation of the Government led by you.”
Omar wrote on X, that “was pleased to receive the Principal Secretary to LG Manoj Sinha ji. He handed over a letter from the LG office inviting me to form the next government in J&K.” J&K will now have an elected government for the first time after a decade. For Omar, the road ahead will be tough as he will be heading a UT not a State. He has already stated that the new cabinet will pass a resolution in its first meeting about restoration of Statehood and present the same to the Prime Minister of India.
Earlier, Omar had met LG Manoj Sinha on Friday and presented letters of support and also staked claim on government formation in J&K. He had told reporters that the oath ceremony would take a few days as the LG office had to send the documents to Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi and then to the Home Ministry. Earlier, yesterday late evening, President of India Draupadi Murmu issued a notification to end the President’s rule in J&K paving way for the new government to take the reins of UT.
The recently concluded Assembly polls held after a decade saw a divided mandate—National Conference sweeping Kashmir with 42 seats while BJP dominating Jammu region by winning 29 seats. The polls saw the fall of Congress that won just six seats. PDP met the same fate by bagging only three seats. Er Rashid led AIP won and Peoples Conference led by Sajad Lone won one seat each. The polls also saw a surprising result in Doda Assembly seat where Aam Admi Party (AAP) candidate emerged victorious.
