1996 JK Assembly elections were fixed in New Delhi: Rana

Jammu, Dec 13: In a sensational disclosure, Senior BJP leader Devender Singh Rana Tuesday said that the 1996 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections were fixed in New Delhi that paved way for a particular political party in the sensitive state to form the government after nearly six years of gubernatorial rule.
“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 said while interacting with media men on the side-lines of a function here this afternoon.
Rana took head on those pointing fingers on the Indian Army and said that the observations on the Army are regrettable, condemnable and shameful. He said the Indian Army is known for its professionalism and apolitical character the world over and the valiant officers and jawans have offered supreme sacrifices to defend the integrity and sovereignty of the nation. It is because of their valour and vigil that the compatriots feel a sense of security and pride, he added.
Devender Rana said the BJP is credited with holding free and fair elections in Jammu and Kashmir in 1977 under the leadership of Morarji Desai, 2002 under the premiership of Atal Behari Vajpayee and 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 maintained.
Rana said some political parties and their leaders are rattled over the ground under their feet shaking due to pro-people policies of the BJP at the Centre and path-breaking initiatives taken by the UT administration for holistic development and implementation of various welfare schemes for ameliorating the lot of the people. 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. In this context, he referred to the hoarse created by a former Chief Minister over the proposed Unique ID for the families in Jammu and Kashmir, saying despite knowing well such a mechanism is aimed at ensuring Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to the beneficiaries, like elsewhere in the country, she deliberated sought to create doubts in the public mind to further their political agenda. But the people are sagacious enough to read in between the lines and see the motivation behind such gimmickry by these self-centered leaders, who are desperately trying to retrieve some political relevance, he said.
Devender Rana said the beauty of the DBT scheme is to end corruption and ensure 100 per cent benefit to the targeted segment of the society, recalling the now-famous words of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi about just 10 per cent of the allocation reaching the people and rest getting embezzled during that era. The DBT scheme, he said, will end the middlemen culture and empower the people in a big way.