Gujjar leader from Jammu Gulam Ali Khatana has been nominated by the President of India Droupadi Murmu to the House of Elders.
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 had earlier represented J&K in the Rajya Sabha between 2005 to 2008.
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.
On Sunday, senior BJP leaders felicitated him at the party headquarters in Jammu.
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.
51 year old Gulam Ali is an alumnus of Government College of Engineering and Technology (GCET). He is currently serving as the BJP spokesperson in Jammu and Kashmir. Khatana joined politics soon after completing his Electrical Engineering degree. As a student leader he remained in the forefront of various agitations 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 Rashtriya Morcha and worked in the close company of Gujjars and Bakerwals in the remote areas and bringing them to the mainstream.
Expressing his gratitude after his nomination to the Rajya Sabha Gulam Ali Khatana said, "I am a small party worker and by nominating him the party leadership has sent a right message to the masses". Khatana said, ``I will try to come up to the expectations of the people and raise their issues on the floor of the house".
Khatana’s nomination to the upper house of the Parliament is also directly linked with the ongoing tug of war between the members of the Gujjar and Pahari community in the Pir Panjal region. Ahead of the maiden assembly polls the Bharatiya Janta Party is trying to strike a balance by fulfilling the aspirations of both the groups. On one hand the party is toeing with the idea of giving political reservation to the Paharis and on the other hand they are equally empowering Gujjar leaders on the ground to end decade long discrimination.