Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Monday took oath as the legislator of the Union Territory Legislative Assembly in his native Kashmiri in a bid to connect with the people of Kashmir. Omar and 89 other legislators were administered oath by the pro-tem speaker Mubarik Gul.
Omar, who struggles to speak fluent Kashmiri, commonly speaks in chaste Urdu and English. But when he went to the podium in the assembly today, he took oath in the native Kashmiri language, surprising the legislators who cheered for him.
Unlike his father, Dr Farooq Abdullah, Omar has struggled to speak in Kashmiri after he began his political career in 1998 at the age of 28 years old. In these three decades, Omar never attempted to speak Kashmiri, but in the assembly elections, which followed after his defeat in the parliament elections from Baramulla parliamentary seat, Omar has started speaking some Kashmiri words in campaign rallies and public meetings.
Omar's first tryst with Kashmiri language began from Ganderbal assembly constituency when he addressed the National Conference's workers rally after filing his nomination for the assembly elections.
In an emotional gesture that went down well with his elections campaign in Ganderbal, Omar removed his embroidered skull-cap in rally and urged the voters to respect his dignity and elect him to the assembly.
'Meoun toop, meoun dastaar, mueins toops thaive ezzat, mei travzeou vote, bei kar tuhun khidmat', (Keep the dignity of my cap and vote for me so that I will serve you)," Omar had said.
In his first speech in Jammu as chief minister on Saturday, Omar spoke another Kashmiri word "mouklou" (ended) reminding the workers of his defeat in parliamentary elections against independent legislator Engineer Rashid.
To this 'mouklou', Shah Faesal, the popular IAS officer, wrote on his social media pages, reminding his switch when he resigned from to float his political party (JK Peoples Movement) before the abrogation of the Article 370 and downgrading of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories of Ladakh and JK, and then his his silent return to bureaucracy, away from Kashmir, in New Delhi.
"Moklyov. Khatam!" wrote Faesal, in response to Omar's Kashmiri word.
"In Kashmir people are too quick to write obituaries; a downturn, and even friends disappear. I recall my own dark days, feeling lost and abandoned, like a shipwrecked sailor drifting aimlessly. Yet, in that wilderness, I discovered resilience. God's grace guided me, revealing a path forward, granting me the himmat (courage) to rise again. Those trying times taught me valuable lessons and introduced me to genuine friends who have stood by me," he wrote, explaining his struggle after his resignation from IAS.
"I'm sure this is true for every human being who felt abandoned at one point during the journey. Overcoming is becoming! Indeed," he wrote.
Besides, Omar Abdullah, his party colleague and MLA Lolab Kaisar Jamsheed Lone, also took oath in Kashmiri.
The pro-tem speaker Mubarik Gul administered oath to the 90 legislators today in the Srinagar Legislative assembly complex, and the assembly saw this activity after six years during which Jammu and Kashmir was put under the president's rule after the PDP-BJP government ended and article 370 abrogation on August 5, 2019.
Omar Abdullah, who had contested the J&K Assembly polls from Ganderbal and Budgam, has resigned from the latter seat, pro-tem Speaker Mubarik Gul said on Monday.
Meanwhile, among the newly elected MLAs who took their oaths on Monday afternoon, there were 29 members from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Prior to the oath-taking ceremony, the BJP organized an event to honor its elected representatives. Speaking on the occasion, MLA Sunil Sharma said: "We will make every effort to fulfill this responsibility. While the government may be formed by the National Conference (NC), the BJP will play a strong role as the opposition. We will commend the government for positive initiatives for j and K, but we will also be a strong voice of criticism when the government fails to meet the expectations of the people."
Dr. Sunil Badhwaj, MLA from the Ramgarh constituency, stated that development in the region will be a top priority for them.
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