Srinagar, Oct 27 (KNO): The much-awaited cabinet expansion-cum-reshuffle of the National Conference-led government was carried out on Tuesday with four party MLAs being sworn in as ministers.
As per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath of office and secrecy to NC legislators Ali Muhammad Sagar, Mir Saifullah, Shamima Firdous and Altaf Ahmad Wani (Kaloo) at a function held at Lok Bhavan here.
As per seniority, Sagar was the first to take oath, followed by Saifullah, Shamima and Altaf.
Sagar took oath in Urdu, while Saifullah, Shamima and Altaf took oath in English.
The ceremony was attended by CM Omar Abdullah, Legislative Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, NC president Dr Farooq Abdullah, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary, ministers Sakina Masood Itoo, Javed Ahmed Rana and Javid Ahmad Dar, Member of Parliament Shammi Oberoi, Leader of Opposition Sunil Kumar Sharma, JKPCC president Tariq Hameed Karra, CPI(M) MLA M Y Tarigami and PDP MLAs Mir Muhammad Fayaz, Aga Muntazir Mehdi and Rafiq Naik.
With this expansion, the strength of the Omar Abdullah-led council of ministers has risen to nine- the maximum permissible under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which caps the council's strength at 10 percent of the total membership of the Legislative Assembly.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has not kept any berth vacant for ally Congress. At the time of government formation, one berth was kept vacant for the party. The Chief Minister had approached the Congress high command in August to know whether it wanted to join the ministry, but there was no response.
Of the ministers who took oath on October 16, 2024, only Satish Sharma has been dropped, while Surinder Choudhary, Sakina Itoo, Javid Dar and Javed Rana have been retained.
All five ministers had submitted their resignations to the Chief Minister on Monday. Only the resignation of Satish Sharma was accepted—(KNO)