Castigates Dy CM for his remarks
Suhail Bhat
Srinagar Nov 27: National Conference (NC) Member Parliament, Agha Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, today accused party leadership of failing to uphold its key 2024 election pledge of fighting for the restoration of Constitutional protections under Article 370.
Follow the Daily Excelsior channel on WhatsApp
The MP said the party was voted to office on the promise of campaigning for Statehood, the return of special guarantees and the release of political prisoners. “We cannot take votes in the name of 370 and then use the language of the BJP after the election. The biggest reason for the mandate is that we fight for protections. We were supposed to find allies across India to make a force to get our guarantees back,” he said.
Click here to watch video
Ruhullah alleged that the party had not worked on any of its political promises in the past year. He criticised the NC for remaining silent when the Waqf amendment bill was passed, saying it “fails to defend religious freedom” and “misses the crucial time to resist.”
The MP also attacked the Government for delays in resolving reservation issues affecting job aspirants in Jammu and Kashmir. He said students were becoming overaged and were losing opportunities.
“A year passes. Who gives them their time and opportunity back? Before the Budgam election, they (NC) said it will be solved in two days, then three days, then four and now a year has passed,” he said. He warned that if the issue remained unresolved within a month, “I will again sit with those students until it is resolved.”
Ruhullah further criticised recent demolition drives in Ganderbal, comparing them with bulldozer actions in Uttar Pradesh. “If we vote for protection, why do bulldozers run here the same way? Where are our elected representatives?” he asked, alleging that in many places there was “no encroachment, the law is violated, and bulldozers are used.”
Responding to remarks from the Deputy Chief Minister, he said the politicians who earlier shifted between the BJP and PDP were now questioning his principles even though they “do not have principles of their own.”
“My disagreement with NC is based on principles, not for the chair. I do not change parties for a chair. I do not compromise principles for a chair,” he said.
Ruhullah reiterated that NC leadership must adhere to its manifesto and mandate. “If they abandon principles, they lose people’s trust. And losing that trust is not the loss of one party, it is the loss of the entire representative system. I cannot leave the principles on which people trust me,” he said.
The MP dismissed speculation that he was distancing himself from the NC to form a separate party. “I do not distance myself from any party, nor do I say anything about making a new party,” he said.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
