A B Wani
Srinagar, Oct 27 : The oath ceremony for the reshuffle in Chief Minister Omar Abdullah-led cabinet has begun at Lok Bhavan Auditorium, Srinagar.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah along with his team reached Lok Bhavan earlier this morning while guests had also started arriving at the venue.
As per details with GNS, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha is administering the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers.
Pertinently, all five incumbent ministers in the previous cabinet had submitted their resignations ahead of the reshuffle to give Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah a free hand to restructure the team.
Senior NC leaders including Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mir Saifullah, Shameema Firdous, Altaf Kalo are for induction into the council, with some existing ministers expected to be dropped or reassigned new portfolios.
Meanwhile, the Congress party has decided not to join the government in this expansion, citing the Union Territory status of Jammu and Kashmir as a reason, though it will continue to provide outside support until statehood is restored.
More details are awaited.(GNS)
