Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 21: Governor NN Vohra today administered oath of office and secrecy to National Conference leader and MLA Kishtwar, Sajjad Ahmad Kitchloo at Raj Bhawan as Minister of State after he was reportedly exonerated of the charges of mishandling Kishtwar situation during August 9 violence targeted against the minorities.
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Legislative Council Chairman Amrit Malhotra, Speaker Mubarak Gul and several Ministers among others were present at the oath taking ceremony, which was held at 3 pm and lasted just 5 minutes.
Mr Kitchloo, who had resigned on August 12-three days after Kishtwar violence-took the oath in English.
He has been allotted the same portfolios, which he was holding at the time of resignation including Minister of State for Industries and Commerce (independent charge) and Minister of State for Home, R&B and Mechanical Engineering, Housing and Urban Development, Tourism and Culture.
With re-induction of Mr Kitchloo as the Minister, strength of the Council of Ministry headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has come back to 25, the maximum the State can have as per its own Constitution i.e. 20 per cent of the total strength of both Houses of Legislature. At Centre and other States, the strength of the Ministry was confined to 15 per cent of Lower House i.e. Lok Sabha and Assembly.
The Council of Ministry now has 12 Ministers each from National Conference and Congress and one as associate member of Congress (Ghulam Hassan Mir). NC has nine Cabinet Ministers and three Ministers of State with independent charge while Congress has eight Cabinet Ministers and four Ministers of State with independent charge.
All opposition parties including PDP, BJP, NPP and JSM boycotted the swearing-in ceremony of Mr Kitchloo. No legislators or prominent political leaders from these parties were present at the oath ceremony at Raj Bhawan.
Even PCC (I) president Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz, who met Governor NN Vohra few minutes before the swearing-in ceremony, didn’t attend the oath.
Speaking to reporters after the oath, Mr Kitchloo decline to comment on 48 hours bandh call given by the BJP saying his job is to work for the people.
“The Judicial Commission has given clean chit to me and my party has reposed faith in me. That’s why I’m back in the Council of Ministry,” he said, adding that he would serve the people and his doors were open for all.
Follow our WhatsApp channel