J&K Assembly comes alive

Srinagar, Oct 21: The Pro-tem Speaker of the J&K Legislative Assembly, Mubarak Gul on Monday administered the oath of office and secrecy to the newly-elected Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the J&K Legislative Assembly complex here.

The 86 MLAs were administered oaths.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was the first to take oath followed by his council of ministers and other MLAs.

He took the pledge in Kashmiri language.

Besides Omar Abdullah, other MLAs including MLA Gulmarg Farooq Ahmad Shah, and MLA Zadibal Tanvir Sadiq took the pledge in the Kashmiri language.

Some legislators from Jammu also took oath in Dogri language.

After his election campaign in Ganderbal where Omar put forth an appeal in Kashmiri language to his voters, this was the second time when the 3rd generation Abdullah was spotted speaking in Kashmiri.

Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary took oath in English.

As the 86 MLAs took the oath on Monday, the move put an end to the six-year wait to have the elected government in place in Jammu and Kashmir.

Congratulating the newly elected MLAs, the Pro-tem Speaker expressed hope that they would raise the issues related to the public welfare in a professional manner.

He exhorted the legislators to work collectively so that the journey takes a smooth and steady pace for the welfare of the people.

He said that the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah-led government will take everyone along in steering Jammu and Kashmir towards new heights of peace, progress, and prosperity.

He also thanked the concerned departments for making all arrangements for the smooth conduct of the oath ceremony.

The Pro-tem Speaker announced in the House that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah decided to vacate the Budgam assembly seat while he would retain the Ganderbal constituency. Omar had contested from two assembly constituencies during the Legislative Assembly polls.

The J&K Assembly elections were held after a gap of 10 years.

The first phase of the election was held on September 18 followed by the second and third phases on September 25 and October 1. The counting of votes was held on October 8.

After the declaration of results, NC emerged as the single largest party.

The NC formed the government in alliance with the Congress.

Five independent MLAs, one MLA from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and one from the CPI (M) also extended their support to the government. Following the announcement, the National Conference holds the strength of 41 MLAs while it has been extended the support by the six MLAs of Congress, five independents, and one MLA of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the CPI (M).