Jammu and Kashmir BJP leader Devender Singh Rana on Wednesday, December 14, 2022, said that the 1996 Assembly elections were “fixed in New Delhi that paved the way for a particular political party in the sensitive State to form the government after nearly six years”.
Mr. Rana, who was a close aide of National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah before joining the BJP last year, said, “The beneficiaries of the crucial 1996 elections know the fact that the number of seats to be won by the contesting political parties were fixed on a high table in New Delhi.”
Mr. Rana was referring to his earlier party, the NC, which contested and won the 1996 polls in J&K. He said that the BJP had been credited with holding free and fair elections in J&K in 1977 under the leadership of Morarji Desai, in 2002 under the premiership of Atal Behari Vajpayee, and in 2014 under Narendra Modi.
“The people, therefore, must remain reassured about the fairness of the Assembly elections that will empower them to choose their own government,” he said.
In an oblique reference to the Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti, Mr. Rana said that some political parties and their leaders were rattled due to thepro-people policies of the BJP.
“This is why they leave no opportunity in giving spin to certain policy decisions aimed at welfare of the people in both the regions and their sub regions. The proposed Unique ID for the families in Jammu and Kashmir is a mechanism aimed at ensuring Direct Benefit Transfer to the beneficiaries, like elsewhere in the country,” he added.
