New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday extended wishes to National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah on taking oath as the first Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. In a post on X, PM Modi said that for J-K progress, the Centre will work closely with Omar and his team. "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," the Prime Minister said. Congratulations to Shri 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. @OmarAbdullah — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 16, 2024 Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the first Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. L-G Manoj Saxena administered the oath of office to Abdullah and his council of ministers at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar. Before the oath-taking ceremony, Omar said that he looked forward to working in cooperation with the Union government but being the CM of a Union Territory has its own challenges. "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 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. We look forward to working in cooperation with government of India to resolve the people's problems and the best way to do that would be to start by restoring statehood to J-K," Omar Abdullah said. National Conference MLA from Mendhar Javed Ahmed Rana, Javid Ahmad Dar from Rafiabad, Sakina Itoo from DH Pora and Surinder Kumar Chowdhary were also administered oath by LG Sinha as ministers in Cabinet. Independent MLA from Chhamb assembly seat Satish Sharma was given a place in the Omar Abdullah-led cabinet. This came after the Congress-National Conference secured 48 seats, with the NC winning 42 and the Congress only six seats in the Jammu Kashmir assembly elections. This will be the first elected government in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganization of the former state into two Union Territories. Jammu and Kashmir have been under Presidential rule since 2018 after the Bharatiya Janata Party withdrew its support from the coalition government with Mehbooba Mufti-led People's Democratic Party (PDP). Recently, the president's rule in Jammu and Kashmir was revoked, clearing the way for the formation of a new government following the recently concluded Assembly polls in the Union Territory.
