NC MP Ruhullah accuses party of diluting statehood mandate

A day after the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly passed a resolution calling on the Government of India to restore full statehood to the Union Territory immediately, disgruntled National Conference MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi on Tuesday accused his party of diluting the mandate it received in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, questioning its repeated resolutions on statehood.

Mehdi, who has set November 3 as the deadline for his exit from the National Conference (NC), said people had voted for the NC to fight for the restoration of constitutional and political guarantees taken away on August 5, 2019.

Mehdi also criticised the dilution of resolutions previously passed by the assembly concerning “autonomy” and “statehood”.

“We had given an assurance, an expectation and a promise to the people that we will not fight any other battle. We will only fight for the return of our constitutional rights,” he said.

Questioning the party’s changing resolutions, he said, “Sometimes one resolution, then a second resolution to dilute the same resolution, and then a third resolution to amend that resolution — this is a joke with the people of Kashmir.” “If there was no clarity, if they did not know what the objective was, why did they go before the people in the election?” Ruhullah asked.

He said the mandate had been reduced to “a victim of convenience” and warned that the people would not forgive those responsible. Referring to the ongoing slugfest between the treasury and opposition benches in the Legislative Assembly, Ruhullah said the J&K Assembly has failed to live up to the expectations of the people and has increasingly become a “ wrestling ring” rather than a forum for resolving public issues.

Taking a jibe at the ruling party, Ruhullah said on Sunday that people had elected representatives in 2024 with the expectation that the assembly would provide a platform for addressing their everyday concerns and finding solutions to issues ranging from water supply and healthcare to education and employment.

However, he questioned the seriousness with which the assembly was now addressing these issues, alleging that instead of functioning as an institution for public problem-solving, it had turned into an “arena” of  political confrontation and publicity.