Newly elected J&K MLAs to take oath in Srinagar

Srinagar: Elected MLAs of the J&K Legislative Assembly will be sworn in Monday by the pro-tem speaker in Srinagar while the NC MP Syed Ruhullah Mehdi has urged the passing of Article 370 restoration resolution by the Assembly as its first business.

Pro-tem Speaker Mubarak Gul will administer the oath to the MLAs, who include 51 first-time members. The oath ceremony will take place at 2 pm on Monday.

Shagun Parihar of the BJP is the youngest legislator at 29, while NC's veteran MLA from Chrar-e-Sharief, Abdul Rahim Rather is the oldest at 80.

Rather and party colleague Ali Mohammad Sagar are the only two people to have been elected to the Assembly for a record seven terms. While Sagar has been a member of the Legislative Assembly since 1983, Rather started his long stint as a legislator in 1977.

The NC has 42 MLAs while the BJP has 29, Congress 6, PDP 3, CPI-M 1, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) 1, Peoples Conference (PC) 1 and 7 independents.

Six out of the seven independents have supported the NC government headed by Omar Abdullah.

Meanwhile, NC Lok Sabha member Syed Ruhullah Mehdi has urged the Assembly to pass the restoration of Article 370 resolution on the very first day of its business.

"I expect that it (resolution on the restoration of Article 370) would be the first business. If not the first business, I expect the resolution will be passed in the first session (of the Assembly).

"That is what I have committed myself to and I have full faith that the National Conference is also committed to it," Ruhullah Mehdi said on his X-post page.

He added, "I don't see any signals that, God forbid, it will not happen. Based on my interactions (with party leaders) pre-election and post-election, there is no cause for worry."

On Thursday, the J&K Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah passed a resolution for the restoration of statehood. The resolution was later cleared by the L-G. (IANS)

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