Aga Ruhullah Mehdi hits back at NC after quitting party and Srinagar seat

Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, who has resigned from the National Conference (NC) and from his Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, has answered the party's charge of "mental and moral bankruptcy" with a sharp statement of his own, posted on X by his office. He called the NC's response "shameless" and accused its leadership of abandoning promises made to voters.

Ruhullah said the party seemed angrier at someone holding it to its word than at those who removed Jammu and Kashmir's constitutional rights. He announced his exit at a gathering in Budgam on Tuesday, and the exchange now exposes a visible rift inside the ruling party.

The central sore point is Article 370. Ruhullah asked why the NC urged people to vote for its restoration if, after winning, its position was that those who removed it would not bring it back. He also asked what had changed since the Assembly elections other than the party gaining office. The NC had countered by asking whether he had tried to rally MPs or bring a resolution or bill on special status in Parliament.

On the 2010 unrest, the NC said he remembered it only after 16 years, noting he stayed a minister until a general reshuffle and contested the 2014 Assembly polls on the party ticket. Ruhullah replied that he was part of that government and had acknowledged his responsibility, then asked why Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who led it, had not done likewise.

Reservation is the second flashpoint. Ruhullah defended his December 2024 protest with students outside the chief minister's residence and urged the government to publish its decision, the relevant dates and what remains pending. He also rejected the claim that he owes his political career to the NC, saying the votes and seats belonged to the people.

Why it matters: a sitting MP leaving the ruling party within a year or so of the government taking office shows how hard the Article 370 promise is to manage, and a vacated Srinagar seat means a by-election that could test the NC's hold on the Valley.

Source: India Today

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