Srinagar, Aug 28 (NVI): National Conference MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi today gave a terse response to party President Farooq Abdullah’s suggestion that he should resign.
Mehdi told Abdullah that his resignation would come, but accountability must precede that step of his.
In a letter written to Abdullah in response to his demand for resignation, Ruhullah said, “Rest assured, the resignation will come. It would have come even without you asking but before that must come accountability,” Ruhullah said in a post on X.
In his letter dated August 28, Ruhullah questioned the National Conference’s shift from its earlier demand for restoration of Article 370 to seeking restoration of statehood, arguing that accepting statehood as the “outer limit” of the party’s political position amounted to legitimising the constitutional changes made in August 2019.
Referring to Abdullah’s recent remarks that people must “stand on their feet”, Ruhullah said the statement resonated with him, but questioned why the party president objected when he raised similar questions.
Ruhullah also said the National Conference was no longer even “begging” for Article 370 but was seeking statehood, which he said had been recognised by the Supreme Court and promised by the BJP in its 2024 election manifesto.
He argued that the party’s present position was inconsistent with its earlier promise of restoration of Articles 370 and 35A, on which, he said, it had secured electoral support.
Responding to Abdullah’s remark questioning his standing before joining the National Conference, Ruhullah said he belonged to a family with a long tradition of sacrifice and was the son of a martyr.
He also said it was Abdullah himself who had personally invited him to join the party.
Ruhullah’s remarks come amid an apparent public disagreement within the National Conference over the party’s political position on the constitutional changes made in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 and the demand for restoration of statehood.—(NVI)
