Why National Conference MLAs Cheered, Thumped Desks as This BJP MLA Tore Into J&K Budget in Assembly

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly witnessed a rare scene on Saturday as National Conference (NC) MPs cheered and thumped their desks as first-time BJP MLA Devyani Rana gave her maiden speech in which she tore into the Budget presented by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. They did the same when she concluded her speech.  Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather had asked all MLAs to encourage Rana, who recently won the by-election from the Nagrota after her father's death. 

Devyani Rana's father Davinder Singh Rana was a stalwart NC leader from the Jammu region and a close associate of Abdullah. In recent years, he fell apart from the NC and switched over to the BJP. However, after the assembly elections in October 2024, he died.

Abdullah had reportedly described his resignation from the NC as the “biggest regret of his political career”. In remembrance of their close ties, Abdullah had also made an emotional speech in the assembly, narrating his strong bond with Davinder Singh Rana. In this recent by-elections, the NC has only put up a symbolic fight against Devyani Rana, and refrained from speaking anything against her during the campaign.

Here's What Devyani Rana Said Against J&K Budget

Heavily criticising the Budget speech, Rana, flagged her concerns over considerable reductions by the government into various key sectors starting from disaster management to Education.

Making a substantial point about reduced Budgetary allocations into disaster relief, Rana said that the sharp slash from Rs 350.76 crore this year, from Rs 719 crore last year, especially at the back of widespread devastation owing to floods and landslides in Jammu is concerning.

“We are proposing half of the money for disaster management during the coming fiscal than funds allocated for the current year,” Rana said in her maiden speech. 

The BJP MLA even spoke emotionally about two deaths from her constituency, one of a toddler who was killed in a landslide, and the second of a 28-year-old youth who had drowned, saying, "These are not merely names from Nagrota. They represent the lives lost in devastation that spanned the Jammu region.”

Rana also pointed out that the Jammu and Kashmir region was “earthquake-prone, landslide-prone, flood-prone and fire-prone,” stressing the need to invest in rebuilding infrastructure, restoration of public assets, early warning system, flood management and drainage network.

Coming down heavily on the NC government, Rana also questioned the reduced budgetary allocation in education, pointing out that the revised estimate for 2025-26 at Rs 1,163.72 crore and the reduced estimate of Rs 969.97 crore was inadequate.

“This is an admission that we intend to spend Rs 193.75 crore less on education than we are to spend during this fiscal,” she said in her speech, asking, “How will the child of a poor person progress when schools will be closed or merged with one another in far-off places due to reduced budgetary allocation?”

Rana also questioned similar reductions by the NC government in the power sector, and even described the free bus ride scheme for persons with disabilities to be “completely divorced from reality”.

“Are our buses adequately equipped with ramps and access mechanisms, especially when there have been documented instances of buses failing to stop even for women standing by?” she asked.

All MLA's patiently listened to her 12-minutes-long speech, and just when it concluded, members from both the Treasury and Opposition benches thumped their desks. One Cabinet minister was spotted giving her a thumbs-up. Many MLAs rushed to her seat to congratulate her.

ALSO READ: Omar Abdullah Criticises Pakistan’s Withdrawal from India Clash, Warns Against Politicising Sport