Jammu
President Droupadi Murmu has nominated a Gujjar tribal, Gulam Ali Khatana, to the house of elders.
An alumnus of Government College of Engineering and Technology (GCET), Khatana is the BJP spokesperson in Jammu and Kashmir. The appointment notification was released by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs late 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 stated.
Rajya Sabha has a total 12 nominated members. With Khatana’s nomination, 10 seats are filled leaving two vacancies. The Government had recently nominated the likes of music legend Illaya Raja and ace sprinter P.T. Usha to the Upper House.
“By nominating me to the Rajya Sabha a clear cut message has been given to the common people by the central government. The message is keep serving the poor and the needy and the government will reward you and support you in every possible way. I am a small party worker and my hard work over the years has been acknowledged at the highest level. I will try to come up to the expectations of the people and raise their issues on the floor of the house,” Khatana told theindiantribal.com.
Khatana’s nomination is considered to be significant as before the abrogation of Article 370, which gave a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the community had little representation in legislative bodies. The Modi government had abrogated Article 370 in August 2019 and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
While Khatana will be the lone member from Jammu and Kashmir in the Rajya Sabha, he will be the second Gujjar Muslim leader from the region to go to Rajya Sabha. Choudhary Mohammad Aslam, a veteran Congress leader, was in Rajya Sabha a couple of decades ago.
Welcoming the announcement, BJP UT president Ravinder Raina said he was grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda for giving representation to a tribal Gujjar leader in the Rajya Sabha.
But then, a political observer in Jammu said, Khatana’s nomination to the Rajya Sabha ahead of the Assembly polls in J&K is set to impact the ongoing tug of war between the Gujjars and the Paharis in the Pir Panjal region over the issue of granting political reservation to the Pahari people.
A student of the 1994 founding batch of GCET, Jammu, Khatana joined politics soon after completing his Electrical Engineering degree. As a student leader he demonstrated his leadership qualities and fought for the student rights under the banner of Jammu Joint Students Federation (JJSF).
In the initial years, he joined the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party and later switched over to the BJP at the peak of the Amarnath land row. He served the party in various wings including the Scheduled Tribe cell.
He also remained associated with the Muslim National Forum and worked in the close company of Gujjars and Bakerwals in the remote areas and bringing them to the mainstream.
