Ruhullah Mehdi Breaks Ranks with NC, Says Statehood-Only Politics Betrays J&K’s People
During a visit to southern Kulgam district, Ruhullah told reporters that he had not been invited to the NC’s recent meeting and was not required for the party’s statehood-focused campaign. He. . .
SRINAGAR:National Conference (NC) Lok Sabha member from Srinagar, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, has publicly distanced himself from the party’s planned protest rally in New Delhi on the opening day of the Parliament’s monsoon session. The rally is aimed at demanding the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood, but Ruhullah—long estranged from the party leadership—asserted that any political campaign that excludes the demand for the reinstatement of Article 370 amounts to a betrayal of the people and a normalisation of the Centre’s August 2019 decisions. During a visit to southern Kulgam district, Ruhullah told reporters that he had not been invited to the NC’s recent meeting and was not required for the party’s statehood-focused campaign. He explained that he was already committed to Muharram-related programmes in Kulgam, Srinagar, and other areas, and, therefore, had no involvement in the party’s deliberations. “They didn’t need me. I was not called, I was not there,” he said, adding that his schedule was already fixed around the 25th Muharram observances. Asked whether he would join the NC’s proposed protest at Jantar Mantar, Ruhullah firmly declined. He said the party’s decision to limit its political messaging to statehood aligned too closely with the BJP’s narrative. “They are going there to protest for statehood. I will go and speak to the people of Jammu and Kashmir about Article 370,” he stated. He argued that reducing the discourse to statehood alone “serves the BJP’s project,” while he intends to work on “the projects of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. ”Ruhullah acknowledged that the NC had contested elections on the promise of restoring statehood, but insisted that the larger constitutional question—Article 370 and the protections it embodied—must remain central. “Whoever speaks only about statehood while ignoring Article 370 is helping normalise the post-August 5 status quo. That is the BJP’s propaganda project,” he said. Responding to remarks by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who recently stated that the political struggle should not stop at statehood but must also seek the reinstatement of Articles 370 and 35A along with all constitutional safeguards removed in 2019, Ruhullah agreed. “If Mirwaiz has said that, then he is right,” he noted. Reiterating his position, Ruhullah said his political stand remains rooted in safeguarding the constitutional rights and aspirations of the people of J&K. He emphasised that any meaningful political movement must confront the constitutional changes of August 2019 rather than accept them as the new normal.