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'Will speak openly for people of Jammu openly': Surjit Singh Slathia on resigning from National Conference
Hours after submitting his resignation to NC supremo Farooq Abdullah, Surjit Singh Slathia said he had no “problem with the party or its leadership”.
Surjit Singh Slathia who resigned from the National Conference (NC) on Sunday said his resignation would let him speak for the people of Jammu openly and he took this step because being in the party “did not feel right anymore”.
Hours after submitting his resignation to party supremo Farooq Abdullah, Slathia said he had no “problem with the party or its leadership”. The former NC leader also said that he could continue to “serve people even outside the party”.
Slathia along with party colleague Devendra Rana announced their decision to quit the Jammu and Kashmir-based NC on Sunday. Rana, who has served as the party’s provincial president of Jammu, told reporters outside his residence that he and Slathia had “resigned from the basic membership of the National Conference”.
Slathia and Rana, who had won from the Nagrota and Vijaypur constituencies, respectively, are expected to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday in the presence of general secretary, Arun Singh, MP Jugal Kishore, J&K chief Ravinder Raina and Union minister Jitendra Singh.
"Dr Farooq Abdullah has received & accepted the resignations of Mr Salathia & Mr Rana. No further action or comment is deemed necessary," a National Conference spokesman tweeted earlier in the day.
Rana also said quitting the NC will help him work for the people of Jammu by helping them realise their aspirations, adding his political philosophy going forward would be based on the Jammu declaration.
The two leaders' exit came after a spate of civilian killings that rocked the valley in recent days. As many as eight civilians have lost their lives since last Sunday. The Resistance Front, an offshoot of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for five of these deaths.
(With agency inputs)
