Two key NC leaders quit party, may join saffron fold
JAMMU: In a setback to the National Conference, two of its senior leaders Devender Singh Rana, once close confidante of party vice-president Omar Abdullah and Surjeet Singh Slathia quit the party on Sunday.
“Party president Dr Farooq Abdullah has received and accepted the resignations of Slathia and Rana. No further action or comment is deemed necessary,” said NC spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar in a tweet on Sunday.
Rana was party’s provincial president for the Jammu region.
Following his resignation, the party nominated senior party leader Ratan Lal Gupta as the provincial president for the region.
Vowing to pursue Jammu Declaration, a political roadmap emanating from Jammu, religiously and resolutely, Rana said the concept was key to retrieving the glorious ethos of inclusive Jammu and Kashmir. “Nothing will deter me in realising this objective and I will single-mindedly work for it even at the peril of my political career,” Rana said while addressing a gathering from Nagrota.
The former MLA said the Declaration is a way forward for respecting the urges and aspirations of all regions and sub-regions of Jammu and Kashmir with none being discriminated against.
Fair play and justice should not only be the bedrock of the political system but even the perception of one being appeased at the cost of other due to politico-strategic expediencies should become an imperative of the past, he said, adding that Jammu region had hugely suffered on all these counts over the decades.
“By holding the banner of Jammu Declaration, we have nothing to lose but everything to gain by making J&K a better place to live in and a real jewel in the crown of our great nation”, he said.
Rana was the only prominent Hindu face of the National Conference in Jammu region. He is the younger brother of Union minister Dr Jitendra Singh.
In 2014, Slathia had won the Vijaypur constituency while Rana had won the Nagrota constituency in Jammu in the same year. “We have come to Delhi and whatever unfolds has to be seen,” Slathia said on Sunday.
Rana and Salathia are likely to join the Bharatiya Janata Party, people familiar with the matter said. A senior BJP leader said, “Devender Singh Rana and Surjeet Singh Salathia have reached Delhi but what is going to be their next move has to be seen.”