Srinagar MP says NC betrayed public mandate after 2024 elections, alleges party surrendered political space for governmental power
Firdous Ahmad
Srinagar, November 3: National Conference Member of Parliament from Srinagar Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi on Tuesday resigned from the party, accusing its leadership of abandoning the struggle for restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s rights and betraying the expectations of people who voted it to power in the 2024 Assembly elections.
In a strongly worded resignation letter dated November 3, Ruhullah said the National Conference had failed to fulfil the political expectations raised after the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A in August 2019.
He said he had initially aligned himself more vigorously with the NC after receiving assurances from its leadership that the party would lead a struggle for restoration of the region’s rights and reclaim its political space.
“My working assumption then was that the National Conference, the grand old party of Kashmir, was the natural candidate for the struggle that the situation demanded,” he wrote.
Ruhullah said he had campaigned vigorously during the 2024 elections, adding that people had placed their anger and expectations on the NC and given it a massive mandate.
However, he described the party’s subsequent political course as a betrayal.
“The people poured their anger and expectations on NC with a massive mandate. But the electoral arena had not yet cooled down, the NC did an about turn,” he wrote.
He said what hurt him most was that people’s expectations had been betrayed at a time when Jammu and Kashmir faced what he described as an existential threat.
In another sharp criticism of the party leadership, Ruhullah said the NC had abdicated political space for governmental power and what he termed a vague promise of restoration of statehood.
He said differences had developed in his political relationship with the leadership after he approached it over the issue, alleging that the party had subsequently aligned itself with a position of “total and absolute abdication”.
Referring to the prevailing political situation in Jammu and Kashmir, Ruhullah warned that depoliticisation and the abandonment of politics at a critical juncture would further weaken the people.
“The forces behind these are so powerful that we can’t even be sure if there will remain a Kashmir in the not so distant future,” he wrote.
He said he could not be party to what he described as the process of denudation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, adding that his conscience, ethics and political principles would not allow him to continue.
“I cannot and will not be party to this,” he stated.
Concluding his letter, Ruhullah thanked the party for the political journey they had shared but made clear that he would pursue another political path.
“I hereby tender my resignation from the party. I will, with Allah’s help, find a niche and way to serve my people to the best of my ability and capacity,” he wrote.
He said he would remain committed to principles rather than expediency, guided by his faith, values and ancestral guidance.
Ruhullah’s resignation marks a significant political development for the National Conference, which had secured a majority in the 2024 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections.
