Says party sought votes in the name of dignity but settled for power; questions Omar’s praise for Modi, recalls promises made before 2024 elections
Srinagar, Nov 3: National Conference MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi on Tuesday launched his sharpest attack yet on his own party and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, accusing the leadership of using him to secure electoral support before abandoning the political struggle for which people had voted in 2024.
In a strongly worded address ahead of his proposed resignation programme, Ruhullah said the National Conference had sought a mandate to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s dignity and constitutional rights but had reduced that promise to the pursuit of power and ministerial positions.
“You used me,” Ruhullah said, directing his criticism at the party leadership as he recalled how he was persuaded to contest the parliamentary elections and subsequently campaign for the National Conference in the Assembly polls.
The Srinagar MP questioned what had become of the party’s repeated assurances that it would fight for the rights taken away from Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019.
“You told people that you were the guardians of their dignity. You said that if anyone touched that dignity, it would be like grabbing you by the collar. That dignity was buried on August 5, 2019. Tell me now, where is that dignity? Where is that autonomy?” he asked.
Ruhullah said the National Conference’s political identity had been built around the promise that Jammu and Kashmir’s people would enjoy dignity, constitutional protection and autonomy within India.
He recalled that generations of Kashmiris had been told that their political future and dignity would be safeguarded through constitutional arrangements with India, irrespective of religion.
“That dignity was given the name of autonomy. We were told that this autonomy was possible within India. You said you were its guardians. What happened to that promise?” he asked.
The MP said he began questioning the party’s response soon after the constitutional changes of August 2019, when he found its priorities increasingly disconnected from the larger political issue.
“After 2019, one was looking for 4G internet, another wanted to be released from jail, and someone else was asking for elections. I kept asking what had happened to the fight for our rights,” he said.
Ruhullah claimed he had made his position clear to the leadership long before the 2024 elections.
“I told them that if they wanted to pursue politics merely for the chair, our paths were different,” he said.
Recalling the parliamentary elections, Ruhullah alleged that the party had approached him with assurances that it would follow the political course he had been advocating.
He said he was initially asked to contest from Baramulla, with religious considerations being cited in discussions over the constituency.
“They wanted me to contest from Baramulla because there were Shia voters. This was the level to which politics had been reduced, where voters were being viewed through religion,” he alleged.
Ruhullah said he did not want to become involved in competing claims over the Baramulla seat and instead suggested that Omar Abdullah contest from north Kashmir.
He was subsequently fielded from Srinagar, where he won the parliamentary election.
Recalling a conversation after Omar Abdullah’s defeat in Baramulla, Ruhullah said he had tried to console the NC leader.
“I told him not to be disappointed. He told me that I had won and that the dignity of the National Conference and the people of Jammu and Kashmir was now in my hands,” Ruhullah claimed.
He said he had taken that responsibility seriously and raised the issues of Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutional rights in Parliament.
The MP alleged that the party again sought his support during the Assembly elections, when he insisted that it first make clear commitments to the people.
“They told me to look at the manifesto. They said we would fight for the dignity of Jammu and Kashmir, not merely for statehood,” he said.
However, Ruhullah alleged that the leadership began distancing itself from the restoration of Article 370 almost immediately after assuming power.
“You got power in 2024, and from the second day, when we spoke about Article 370, you started saying no. Is this the dignity you promised?” he asked.
In one of his strongest attacks on Omar Abdullah, Ruhullah questioned the Chief Minister’s public remarks welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visits to Jammu and Kashmir.
He referred to Omar’s remarks praising Modi during a railway inauguration and questioned why the Chief Minister had not used the occasion to directly raise the restoration of constitutional rights.
“You told Modi Sahib that what the British could not do, he had done. You asked him to promote you from Chief Minister of a Union Territory to Chief Minister of a state,” Ruhullah said.
He asked why Omar had not instead told the Prime Minister that the decisions of August 2019 had deeply hurt the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Did you ever tell him that you had saddened the people by taking away their rights? Did you ask him to sit with the people and restore those rights?” he questioned.
Ruhullah also criticised the political culture surrounding ministerial appointments, saying the pursuit of office had overshadowed the larger struggle.
“Is dignity about occupying a chair? Is it dignity when someone does not get a ministerial berth and begins crying like a child?” he asked.
Drawing a contrast between those desperate to retain power and those prepared to relinquish it, the MP said public respect could not be measured by political office.
“In some places, losing a chair brings tears and sadness. Here, the possibility of giving up a chair brings happiness,” he said.
“Come and see what respect and dignity mean. If your chair allows you to get up from it, come and see what dignity looks like,” he said.
In an emotional appeal, Ruhullah said he would rather seek the support of ordinary people than become dependent on political power.
“I place my cap before the people and pray to Almighty Allah that He never makes us so dependent on power and the chair that we have to put it before his people,” he said.
