Jammu: Ecstatic over his nomination to the Rajya Sabha, Jammu and Kashmir BJP leader from Gujjar community Gulam Ali Khatana on Sunday said the decision reflects the rise of the last person and is a victory for the poor sections of the society.
Khatana thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the decision and said he is working for the upliftment of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Prime Minister Modi has kept his promise to uplift the neglected sections of the society by nominating an ordinary worker from a community which has witnessed neglect over the past 70 years,” he said.
Khatana, who was one of the spokespersons of the J-K unit of BJP, was nominated as member of the Rajya Sabha on Saturday evening.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-clause (a) of clause (1) of Article 80 of the Constitution of India, read with clause 93 of that Article, the President is pleased to nominate Gulam Ali to the Council of States to fill the vacancy caused due to retirement of one of the nominated members,” an order issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs said.
Khatana, an engineer, will be the lone member from Jammu and Kashmir in the Rajya Sabha. All four Rajya Sabha members from J-K had completed their tenure in February 2021. Elections to vacancies from J-K in the Upper House of Parliament could not be held due to delay in the assembly polls.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a felicitation function at the BJP headquarters here, he said, “Modi is having a laser eye and is living up to his promises…This is a victory of poor people of J-K, ‘Antoyadaya’ (rise of the last person), victory of an honest and loyal worker and overall the victory of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
Khatana said the prime minister is working for the upliftment of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially those who have been neglected over the past 70 years.
“Modi is delivering on his promises and he does not leave any vacuum…The Gujjar community is one of the largest sections of the society but was used only as vote bank in the past. Under Modi, the community is getting its due rights and is being empowered with each passing day,” he said.
Khatana, while referring to various measures like implementation of Forest Rights Act and reservation of nine seats for the Scheduled Tribe, said it is possible only under the prime ministership of Modi.
“I am an ordinary worker of the party who is linked to the ground. I have worked honestly in accordance with the principles of the party and will fulfill my responsibility to the best satisfaction of the people,” he said.
J-K BJP president Ravinder Raina, who along with other senior party leaders felicitated Khanata on being nominated to the Rajya Sabha, said “the party is living up to its slogan of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas”.
“Khantana, who originally hails from a remote village of Ramban, joined BJP in 2008 and is a highly dedicated worker of the party,” Raina said and thanking the prime minister, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda for his nomination to the Upper House.
He said the nomination of Khatana shows that the BJP is a party of common people unlike the Congress, the National Conference and the PDP that have “preferred family rule.
The Gujjar community extended warm wishes to Khatana and thanked the BJP government for choosing him as a member of Parliament.
The community expressed hope that he will project the issues of people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially Gujjars, Bakerwals, Gaddi, Sippis and other tribes in Parliament for redressal.
