Senior National Conference (NC) leader Rahim Rather's son joined Sajad Lone’s Peoples Conference (PC) on Saturday. This is the second known face’s exit from the NC in the past five days.
“The PC has arrived. Let there be no delusions. There are many soothsayers who refuse to see reality as it exists and want to create reality as they want to see it. I want to tell those delusional people that the PC has arrived and will conquer for the best interests of the people of J&K,” Mr. Lone, who quit the Gupkar alliance earlier this year, said after Mr. Rather joined him.
Mr. Lone seemed buoyed by the decision of Mr. Rather, who is the son of NC leader and ex-Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather. Senior Rather is also close to NC president Farooq Abdullah. Junior Rather is facing a case of corruption in the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ABC) over loans taken from the J&K Bank.
Mr. Lone termed Mr. Rather “an enterprising, educated and capable young man who has the interests of the people of J&K at the core of his politics”.
“It is not the time to get terrified due to the tough ordeals of the present time. It is the moment to stay far-sighted, firm and resolved to get Jammu and Kashmir out of the present cycle of uncertainty,” he said.
Junior Rather said the conflict has destroyed the youth of J&K to great extent. “My dream is to see the youth of J&K prosper in every field they take the plunge in and make it a hub of peace, tranquillity and progress. As I decided to join politics, I didn’t think of anyone but Sajad Lone. He is a dynamic leader with a progressive vision,” Mr. Rather said.
Earlier this week, NC’s provincial president Devender Rana had quit the NC and joined the BJP.
It’s for the first time since the reading down of Article 370 in August 2019 that the NC is seeing an exodus of politicians. Earlier, scores of leaders had left Mehbooba Mufti’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after August 5, 2019 and joined new political forces like Altaf Bukhari’s Apni Party.
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