Some one has rightly said that well begun is half done and also depicts future plans and intentions.
It seems that regional wedge between the Kashmir Valley and Jammu region widens as the National Conference (NC) which today took the charge of coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir with Congress party in the beginning could not do justice with all the three regions of the state. On the first day 10 Council of Ministers were administered oath of office and secrecy by Governor N.N Vohra, included former Speaker Tara Chand (Congress) as Deputy Chief Minister. The decision of NC to give just one representation to Jammu region in the beginning against four representation to Kashmir Valley may send a negative message to the people of Jammu region and the BJP which is in the Opposition and had already cashed on Amarnath land row agitation can exploit the people of Jammu by saying that ‘NC has started ignoring Jammu region’. As BJP and likeminded parties have been successful in uniting the people of Jammu region in a forceful way against the Kashmir based leaders and politicians which had been seen during the two months long Amarnath land row agitation in the last year
The NC gave just a single representation to Jammu region while four of its MLAs are from the Kashmir Valley, including Chief Minister (CM) Omar Abdullah. While on the other hand in a bid to give equal representation to all parts of the state, Congress had nominated two MLAs as Ministers from Jammu, two from Kashmir and one from Ladakh area.
The other eight Ministers were Abdul Rahim Rather, Mian Altaf, Ali Mohammad Sagar and Surjit Singh Slathia from the NC and Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, Taj Mohi-ud-Din, Rigzin Zora and Sham Lal Sharma from the Congress.
The swearing-in ceremony was held under a tight security cover with police marksmen deployed at vital positions around the Jammu University (JU) campus.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi also attended the function.
38 years old, Omar Abdullah bettered his father Dr. Farooq Abdullah’s record of being the youngest Chief Minister (CM) of J&K.
The new CM arrived at the auditorium, was accompanied by his wife Payal Abdullah, sons and father Dr. Farooq Abdullah.