Omar to be sworn in as CM tomorrow, six-member ministry likely

Jammu, Jan 4 (PTI) Omar Abdullah will take oath as chief minister of the India's northern most state of Jammu and Kashmir Monday at the head of a National Conference-Congress coalition government amid indications it will be a six-member ministry and without a deputy chief minister from the Congress.

Omar(38) will become the state's youngest chief minister
and the eleventh after he was unanimously elected as the
leader of the NC Legislature party at its meeting. Omar's name
was proposed by his father and former chief minister Farooq
Abdullah and seconded unanimously by the remaining 25
legislators.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi will attend Omar's
swearing-in ceremony to be held at General Zorawar Singh
stadium in Jammu University. Abdullah's proposed six-member
ministry is expected to have three members each from the two
coalition partners who have joined hands to stitch an alliance
after a gap of two decades.

"I am confident to deliver in the state and come up to
the expectation of the people of the state", said Omar who got
a rapturous welcome on reaching the border state's winter
capital Sunday.

On the eve of the new government assuming office,
People's Democratic Party (PDP) pulled out of the ruling
Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition with
the party president Mehmooba Mufti writing a letter to UPA
chairpeson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Besides Abdullah, his party colleagues-- A R Rather and
Surjeet Salathia-- are also expected to take oath. Tara Chand
(Jammu region), Taj Mohideen (Kashmir valley) and Nawang
Rigzin Jora (Ladakh) are Congress' front-runners for a berth
in the ministry.

Congress sources said a deputy chief minister who will be
from the party is unlikely to be inducted tomorrow. The
induction is likely to be done after Lok Sabha elections.

Omar's cavalcade took 2 hours to cover the distance of
10 kms from airport to NC headquarters prompting him to say,
"I did not expect such a welcome. People are wise and do not
get swayed by the divisive politics."

He and his wife Payal shook hands with hundreds of
people enroute as NC supporters showered flowers on them.

Security been beefed up in Jammu including in and
around the residence of the Abdullah valley in Bhatandi in
Jammu city after security forces sanitised areas near the
forest belt.

Describing the recent assembly elections in the state
as a major setback to separatists, Omar outlining his agenda
asked them to be flexible and promised to facilitate a
dialogue between them and the Centre to resolve the Kashmir
issue.

"Hurriyat has got a major setback. The elections were a
shock to them," Omar told reporters soon after being accorded
a grand reception by his supporters at the National
Conference's Jammu headquarters.

Terming the impressive voter turnout as the victory of
democracy and a blow to separatists who had given a call for
poll boycott in J&K, the NC President advised them not to be
rigid but flexible to hold talks with the Centre and promised
to play the role of a facilitator in the negotiations.

"Separatists should read the peoples' mind, shed their
rigidity and get flexible to hold talks. When we form
government we will facilitate dialogue between the government
of India and the separatists to resolve the issue", he said.

Asserting that there was no change in the way the NC
looked upon the Kashmir issue despite the fact the the party
was all set to take over the reins of power in the state, he
said, "It would be wrong to assume that we will not talk about
Kashmir issue and leave it". PTI AB
DEP