President's rule has been revoked in Jammu and Kashmir, according to an official order by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Sunday (October 13), thus paving the way for government formation in union territory. The MHA, through its gazette notification, revoked its earlier order of October 31, 2019, relating to the imposition of the President's Rule in the region. The latest order dated October 13, 2024, revoked its 5-year-old order. With the execution of this order, the new government led by Omar Abdullah has officially got a nod to be sworn in in the upcoming week.
"In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 73 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 (34 of 2019) read with Articles 239 and 239A of the Constitution of India, the order dated the 31st October, 2019 in relation to the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir shall stand revoked immediately before the appointment of the chief minister under Section 54 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019," the order signed by President Droupadi Murmu said.
Central rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir on October 31, 2019, after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019. Prior to October 31, 2019, the central rule was continuing in the erstwhile state from June 2017 after the resignation of the then chief minister Mehbooba Mufti when the BJP withdrew support to the PDP-led government.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 was passed by the Parliament on August 5, 2019, and on the same date the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two -- J-K and Ladakh -- both of which were designated as Union Territories. The government had abrogated Article 370 which gave special status to the region, in a historic move.
Government formation in Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir will have an elected government for the first time in seven years (after BJP withdrew support from PDP in June 2017). In the recently-concluded Assembly Elections, the National Conference-Congress alliance secured a majority in the 90-seated Assembly. The NC touched the majority figure of 46 on its own after four independent MLAs decided to join the party.
Omar Abdullah is all set to form the government in the new week. He met Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha on October 11 and handed over the letters of support to form the government. Omar was elected the leader of the National Conference legislature party on Thursday. His father and party chief Farooq Abdullah had, soon after the poll victory, announced that his Omar would be the chief minister of the Union Territory.
What did Omar say?
Omar said that he urged the LG to fix a date for the swearing-in ceremony and the date is expected to come in 2 to 3 days. He said that the ceremony is expected to be on Wednesday if the process is completed by Tuesday.
"I met the LG and handed over letters of support that I have received from the Congress, CPM, AAP and independents. I requested him to fix a date for the swearing-in ceremony so that the government can start functioning. It will be a long process as there is Centre rule here. The LG will first send the documents to Rashtrapati Bhawan and then to Home Ministry. We have been told it will take 2-3 days. So if it happens before Tuesday, we will have the swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday... All I want to say is that Jammu will not be ignored in this government," he said after meeting the LG.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) officially announced its support for the National Conference (NC) in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday. The AAP submitted a formal letter of support for the Omar Abdullah-led government to the Lieutenant Governor's office.
(With inputs from agencies)
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