A war of words broke out on Tuesday between National Conference leaders a day after one of its Members of Parliament led the protest march outside the official residence of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in Srinagar demanding rationalization of the existing Reservation Policy in Jammu and Kashmir.

The protest led by Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, National Conference MP from Srinagar, is being viewed, by many, as growing discord within the National Conference, as it was seen as defying the party’s norms and discipline.

Meanwhile, opposition party leaders from the Peoples Democratic Party and Bharatiya Janta Party took a jibe at the National Conference government and demanded an early resolution of the issue.

On the other hand, the  Congress party decided to bail out Omar Abdullah and termed Aga Syed Ruhullah's protest march a 'camera show'.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had already set the record straight on Monday by ensuring the delegation of students that the channel of communication would remain open without any intermediaries or hangers-on.

On Tuesday speaking to reporters at the National Conference headquarters in Srinagar party MLA from Hazratbal, Salman Sagar clarified the National Conference had nothing to do with the protest over the Reservation Policy.

Referring to the presence of party MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, Salman Sagar made it clear if the MP believes that he can do it, then that’s his prerogative, however, this was not the National Conference’s initiative.

Salman said the protest was a platform for the party’s adversaries. “It was a gathering of our adversaries, of our enemies. Unfortunately, one of our MPs was present there, allowing them to exploit the situation,” Salman said, adding that such actions inadvertently strengthen the position of political rivals like the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Salman accused the organizers of failing to consider better ways to address grievances. “If grievances truly needed redressal, there were better ways to address them. What happened yesterday, in my personal opinion, was pure drama. It didn’t benefit anyone,” he said.

He also took a dig at political opportunism, stating that the protest gave a platform to individuals who have no real stake in the issue. “People with no mandate, those who have been rejected by the public with barely 200 votes, were speaking on behalf of thousands or even millions. This kind of behavior undermines genuine efforts,” Salman said.

 Reacting to the assurances given by the Chief Minister to the delegation of the Open Merit Students Association after holding the first round of talks Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti Tuesday asked  Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to find a way to resolve the issue of reservation saying leaving the matter for the courts was “very unfortunate”.

Speaking to reporters Mehbooba Mufti said “We do not want any politics in it but we are pushing open merit students to the wall. The chief minister has sought six months’ time. They (NC) have three MPs, including the  Ladakh MP and 50 MLAs, why do they need six months? They think a court decision will come by and they will not have to do anything,” Mufti said.

The former chief minister of the erstwhile state of J-K said the NC government could have brought an SRO to settle the issue of reservation like what she did in 2018 when she brought SRO-49 for 75 per cent reservation for open merit category in post-graduation.

In Jammu, BJP general secretary and in-charge of the party’s  Jammu and Kashmir affairs Tarun Chugh accused Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of trying to deprive the underprivileged classes of their rights in the name of rationalization of reservation policy.

Speaking to media persons, Tarun Chugh said, “Omar Abdullah Ji the country is run according to the Constitution and nobody will be allowed to fiddle with the rights of the Dalits, Gujjars, Paharis and other underprivileged classes of the society. INDIA bloc and the National Conference (NC) have deprived the underprivileged classes of their rights and they are again working on conspiracies to do the same.

In Srinagar, the Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Dooru and senior Congress leader, Ghulam Ahmad Mir said that the Member of Parliament (MP) from Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency, Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, could have met the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah directly instead of resorting to “camera show”.

Addressing a news conference at party headquarters here in Srinagar, Mir said that the MP Ruhullah was just a five minutes away from CM Omar Abdullah and instead of opting for “camera show”, the demands could have been raised with the Chief Minister directly.

“It has become a fashion now to get the camera attraction, otherwise the responsible MP from NC, could have behaved seriously,” he said while responding to a query on Ruhullah’s protest on Reservation policy outside CM’s residence.