NC leader Abdul Rahim Rather’s son Hilal now joins People’s Conference

SRINAGAR: Hilal Rather, son of veteran National Conference leader Abdul Rahim Rather, joined the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference on Saturday.

Rather, out on bail in a case related to diversion of loan money from J&K Bank, joined the People’s Conference in the presence of party chairman Sajad Gani Lone. Asked if he had consulted his father and NC leader Abdul Rahim Rather on joining Lone’s party, Rather replied in the negative. “I respect my father and he has been magnanimous in giving me space to take my own decisions. I have taken this decision on my own,” he said.

Rather said he chose People’s

Conference as he wanted to work for the youth of J&K who have immensely suffered due to the ongoing conflict.

Ratan Lal Gupta elected NC’s provincial president

Former MLC Ratan Lal Gupta was elected the National Conference provincial president for Jammu on Saturday, a week after being nominated to the post following the resignation of his predecessor Devender Singh Rana.

“National Conference is the only party which can pull J-K out of the present turmoil as it has a strong base at the grassroots level,” Gupta said after his election.

Meanwhile, thousands of supporters turned up at the Jammu Airport and Gandhi Nagar in Jammu on Saturday to welcome former MLAs Devender Singh Rana and S S Slathia who quit NC and joined BJP in Delhi earlier this week.

Traffic on the main road was suspended for over an hour around noon as the supporters of the leaders waited with garlands and flowers, danced to drum beats and raised slogans.