LG Sinha, Altaf Bukhari visit Rana’s residence; pay tributes

Jammu, Nov 6: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Wednesday visited the residence of late senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and MLA Nagrota, Devender Singh Rana, at Gandhinagar, Jammu to pay his tributes and share his condolences with his (Rana’s) bereaved family.

Meanwhile, J&K Apni Party President, Syed Muhammad Altaf Bukhari, joined by his party colleagues, also visited Rana’s residence to express his sympathies with the bereaved family today.

59-year old Rana, admired as an affable, compassionate, intelligent yet witty politician, cutting across political affiliations, passed away in a private hospital of Faridabad on October 31.

LG Sinha reached his (Rana’s) residence this morning and offered floral tributes to his portrait placed in the front portion of the house. Later, the Lieutenant Governor straightway went inside the house to meet the bereaved family and share his condolences. Senior police officers accompanied LG Sinha.

LG Sinha spent some time with the family sharing moments of grief and then left, without speaking to the media persons, stationed outside.

Later, DIPR, J&K posted on ‘X’, “Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha paid a visit to the residence of late Devender Singh Rana today.”

Earlier after the sudden demise of Rana, the Lieutenant Governor had shared his grief on micro-blogging site ‘X.’ “I’m deeply grieved to learn of the untimely demise of Shri Devender Singh Rana Ji. In his passing away, we have lost a patriotic and widely respected leader, who was committed to the well-being of the people of J&K. I extend my deepest condolences to his family & friends. Om Shanti,” LG Sinha had posted.

Later in the day, J&K Apni Party President, accompanied by his party colleagues, also reached Rana’s residence to express his condolences with the bereaved family.

Bukhari expressed his solidarity with the bereaved family, while terming the untimely demise of the prominent politician and business tycoon, Devender Singh Rana as “unfortunate.”

“Rana sahab’s passing away has left a huge void in the society. He was a popular leader, who was accessible to everyone. His welfare work will always be remembered,” said Bukhari, expressing his condolences to the bereaved family members.

He also prayed to the Almighty for the eternal peace of the departed soul, and courage to the bereaved family members to bear this irreparable loss.

Bukhari was accompanied by General Secretary of the party, Vijay Bakaya; Provincial President, Jammu, Manjit Singh; Provincial Vice President, Faqir Nath; Bodh Raj Bhagat and ex-MLA Shah Mohammed Tantray besides others.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who once shared a great camaraderie with Rana as his Advisor and NC Provincial President during his (Omar’s) first stint as the Chief Minister of J&K before differences strained their ties, had attended the last rites of his departed friend on November 1, besides paying moving tributes to him on ‘X’ and later in the J&K Legislative Assembly.

Rana, in 2021, left NC to join BJP. He won the Nagrota assembly segment as BJP MLA yet again in the 2024 assembly elections.

Earlier he had registered an impressive win from the same segment, resisting the strong Modi wave in 2014, on NC ticket.