Maharaja Ji’s Holiday Will Not Be Cancelled, Focus on Daily Wagers & Power Bills: Devyani Rana to Elected Govt
SRINAGAR, September 22, 2026: MLA Nagrota Devyani Rana today strongly condemned the attempt to raise the issue of cancelling the public holiday on the birth anniversary of Maharaja Hari Singh Ji in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. She said that any move to undo the holiday, along with the suggestions being floated by the elected government for the balkanization of the Jammu Division, is an affront to the sentiments, history and identity of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and will not be allowed to succeed.
Recalling the background of the holiday, Devyani Rana said that in 2022, Late Devender Singh Rana Sahab took up the long-pending demand of the people with Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor Sh. Manoj Sinha Ji, who approved the holiday in recognition of Maharaja Hari Singh Ji’s towering contribution to Jammu and Kashmir. “This holiday is the fulfilment of a genuine and emotional demand of lakhs of people of Jammu and Kashmir. Maharaja Ji’s holiday will not be cancelled,” she asserted.
Devyani Rana said that instead of addressing the real and pressing issues of the people, the government has chosen to indulge in petty politics because it can no longer deliver on the promises it made to the public. She pointed out that the demands of daily wagers for regularisation remain unaddressed, and SCARD depositors continue to wait for the return of their hard-earned money. She also demanded that the government announce bijli byaaz maafi, a waiver of interest on pending electricity dues, to relieve ordinary households struggling under mounting power bills. “People voted for solutions, not for divisive distractions,” she said.
She further stated that all the departments concerned with these issues fall squarely under the purview of the elected government, leaving no room for excuses. “The government has the concerned departments, the mandate and the responsibility. Yet it is manufacturing inertia for no reason and trying to shift the public’s attention to emotive issues to hide its own failures,” she remarked.
Calling for a serious and responsible approach to governance, Devyani Rana urged the government to undertake better financial management in line with the needs of the Union Territory, so that development can be delivered to the public systematically and in a time-bound manner. She said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir, deserve a government that works on their concerns rather than one that attacks their heritage, culture and sentiments in the garb of politics.
