Rana, Slathia quit NC to join BJP today
More leaders set to join party during Shah’s Jammu visit
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Oct 10: Devender Singh Rana, National Conference provincial president and former Political Advisor to then Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his colleague and former Minister Surjit Singh Slathia today parted ways with the National Conference and will join the BJP tomorrow in New Delhi in the presence of top party leadership drawn from Centre as well as Jammu and Kashmir.
Earlier in the day, Rana and Slathia resigned from the party and their resignations were accepted by the National Conference leadership which avoided further comments. Rana also quit as the provincial president of Jammu.
In the afternoon, both of them left for New Delhi where they will join the BJP tomorrow.
The BJP high command has asked top leadership of the party from Jammu and Kashmir to remain present in New Delhi tomorrow during the joining of the party by the NC leaders. Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Officer (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh, Lok Sabha MP from Jammu-Poonch Jugal Kishore Sharma, UT BJP chief Ravinder Raina, Ashok Koul, general secretary (Organizations) and two former Deputy Chief Ministers—Kavinder Gupta and Dr Nirmal Singh will be present at the joining ceremony among others.
Arun Singh, general secretary (headquarters) and a Union Cabinet Minister will also be present at the party office when Rana and Slathia will join the BJP tomorrow. After the joining, Rana is likely to meet BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
There were inputs that some more political leaders from other parties could join the BJP during visit of Shah to Jammu later this month.
The BJP high command has made the joining of Rana and Slathia a big event by inviting top party leadership of J&K to New Delhi.
Rana is a three-time legislator and remained Political Advisor to then Chief Minister Omar Abdullah from 2009-2011 while Slathia had won Vijaypur seat twice and worked as the Cabinet Minister.
“I believe there is a need for strengthening of Jammu Declaration. It will become a voice for Jammu and Kashmir and strengthen UT & country. For this, I have changed my political path. Tomorrow will be a new beginning for me & I will embark on a journey for J&K which is today facing many challenges and opportunities. It will be my endeavour to work for the Jammu’s issues,” Rana said in an exclusive interview to the Excelsior ahead of joining the BJP.
Asserting that aspirations of the people of Jammu need to be addressed and he is committed to that, Rana said he is joining the BJP in the interest of Jammu so that the region gets its due and unshackle the sense of deprivation that it feels.
“I propagated the Jammu Declaration about a year back. It has become a narrative for the people of Jammu. I wrote to all political parties, intellectuals, media persons, civil society, members from academic and others and got very favourable response from all. I pursued it very vigorously and shall continue to pursue it in the days to come,” Rana said.
He added that he was of the firm belief that a comprehensive political narrative emanating from pluralistic Jammu will help strengthen ethos of J&K thereby further strengthening the country.
Referring to his resignation from the National Conference, he said he has done his best in the National Conference that he could do.
“I’m grateful to Dr Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah for their continuous support and guidance to me,” he added.
Asked whether the BJP is supportive of Jammu Declaration, Rana said: “In fact, of all the political parties, it was the BJP which extended support to the concept of Jammu Declaration. It (the Jammu Declaration) will be the bedrock of my philosophy in the future and I’m ready to make any sacrifice to espouse its cause”.
He said the Jammu Declaration will ensure that the propagandists of Dixon Plan are defeated and J&K gets its pristine glory.
On recent spurt in terror activities in the wake of civilian killings in the Valley, Rana said: “Terrorism has no religion. A terrorist is a terrorist and all political parties must unite to foil designs of those who are using terror to weaken secular fabric of J&K. Together, we should name & shame Pakistan for spilling blood of innocent people”.
Rana, a former MLA and younger brother of Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, had taken over the post of provincial president of the National Conference after relinquishing his office as Political Advisor to the then Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
“Now the voice of J-K will come from Jammu which should get its rightful place,” Rana, who was considered as the backbone of the National Conference in Jammu province, he further said.
Rana had proposed the ‘Jammu declaration’ on January 30, a charter to forge unity and reinforce trust between diverse communities and divergent regions of Jammu and Kashmir.
Asked whether his leaving the National Conference is a big loss for the party, he said people come and go and so the resignation of the two leaders would have no impact on it as the NC is a “big” party.
“I respect both (NC president) Farooq Abdullah and (vice president) Omar Abdullah,” he said.
Surjit Singh Slathia while talking to the Excelsior said they have decided to join the BJP in the interest of the people of Jammu.
“We will work as per the Jammu Declaration,” he added.
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