SRINAGAR — National Conference Lok Sabha member Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi has written to party president Dr Farooq Abdullah, saying he will resign as an MP and from the primary membership of the National Conference, but asserted that “before that must come accountability.”
In a strongly worded three-page letter, Ruhullah responded to Farooq Abdullah’s recent public challenge that he should resign from Parliament and seek a fresh mandate from the people.
Ruhullah said Farooq’s remarks questioning dependence on Delhi had resonated with him, but asked why he should be criticised for raising similar questions about Jammu and Kashmir’s political position.
Arguments on Article 370 and statehood
A central argument in Ruhullah’s letter concerns the National Conference’s position on restoration of Article 370 and statehood. He questioned the party’s acceptance of restoration of statehood as the immediate political objective, arguing that statehood cannot be treated as a substitute for the constitutional provisions removed in August 2019.
According to the news agency KNT, Ruhullah pointed out that the National Conference’s 2024 election manifesto had promised restoration of Articles 370 and 35A, and questioned why those commitments were made when the BJP was already in power at the Centre.
“Were we making promises we knew we could not keep or perhaps never truly intended to keep?” he asked, according to the letter.
He argued that reducing the political demand to statehood risked normalising what he described as the “constitutional assault” of August 2019 and accepting the BJP’s political settlement for Jammu and Kashmir.
Ruhullah said Article 370, in his view, represented more than a constitutional provision and was shorthand for the struggle for the dignity, constitutional guarantees and liberties of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
He linked his argument to several issues facing the region, including unemployment, land, resources, religious rights, traditions, language and environmental degradation, alleging that Jammu and Kashmir’s land and resources were increasingly vulnerable while deforestation, mining and construction were damaging ecologically fragile areas.
Questions Abdullah’s own record
The NC MP also questioned Farooq Abdullah’s position in light of his earlier role as Chief Minister when the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly passed the Autonomy Resolution.
“Why, then, has the mere mention of constitutional guarantees for Jammu-Kashmir now become so offensive that you felt compelled to publicly demand my resignation?” Ruhullah asked, according to the letter.
He further questioned what had changed — the aspirations of the people or the National Conference’s willingness to stand up for them.
Resignation stance
Ruhullah made clear that he was not withdrawing his commitment to resign. “Rest assured, the resignation will come,” he said, adding that he would have resigned even without Farooq Abdullah asking him to do so, but insisted that accountability must precede it.
Response on personal background
The letter also responds to Farooq Abdullah’s reported remarks questioning who Ruhullah was before joining the National Conference. Ruhullah said he was the son of a martyr and the inheritor of a long tradition of martyrdom. He further recalled that Farooq Abdullah himself had invited him into the National Conference, saying the party president was therefore aware of his background.
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