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The Hindu
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Not happy with quality of polity in J&K: National Conference MP Ruhullah
Ruling National Conference (NC) Member of Parliament (MP) Aga Syed Ruhullah on Friday (June 20, 2025) expressed his dissatisfaction over the 'quality of polity' in Jammu and Kashmir and sought people's support to bring accountability to the system. 'I am not happy or satisfied with the quality of polity in J&K. I am not referring to any particular organisation, but to the entire polity of J&K. Politics in J&K has degraded. Changing parties won't help. I appeal to society to stand for reform,' MP Ruhullah said. MP Ruhullah made these remarks in Sopore, in north Kashmir's Baramulla constituency. He also engaged with youth in a question-and-answer session on the politics and issues of Kashmir. However, his decision to address a civil society group in Sopore was not well received by the NC leadership there. None of the local NC leaders or activists participated in the public event attended by the MP. 'It doesn't matter whether they (NC leaders) attended or not. I was invited. I can't refuse an invitation based on whether they voted for us or not,' Mr. Ruhullah said. There is growing friction between MP Ruhullah and the NC's top leadership, which has been evident on several occasions since the party formed the government in J&K last year. The MP sought people's support to 'reshape polity.' He said, 'I am looking for those people who will walk with me, bringing accountability to the system, those who will stand for credibility.' The issue of rationalisation of the reservation quota saw MP Ruhullah joining protesters outside the Chief Minister's residence in Srinagar last year. He also recently admitted that the top party leadership has 'not been in touch with him.' However, MP Ruhullah continues to attend party meetings and is reportedly among the few voices critical of the government's functioning. After the Sopore function, the MP also supported the demand that the Cabinet Sub-Committee report on the rationalisation of reservation quotas in jobs should be made public. The CSC submitted its report on reservation to the Cabinet this week. 'It should be made public. There should be discussion. Even if the report has been sent to the Law Department, it should be concluded within a week's time,' he said. Mr. Ruhullah is a popular Shia cleric and garners significant support for his bold stance on issues like Article 370, greater autonomy, and security forces' crackdown on youth in Kashmir.
New Indian Express
26-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
J&K: NC, Srinagar MP Ruhullah at odds over abrogation of Article 370
SRINAGAR: The ruling National Conference (NC) and Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah are at odds, once again. Ruhullah, a critic of the NC's policies under the Omar Abdullah government especially with regards to statehood restoration and reservation in J&K, walked out of a NC working committee meeting last week. Under the chairmanship of party president Farooq Abdullah, an NC working committee meeting was held last week during which seven resolutions — including restoration of special status and immediate restoration of statehood — were passed. Ruhullah attended the CWC meeting, but left midway. Sources said that Ruhullah, who was displeased by the party's policies under the Omar Abdullah government, had stressed on restoration of Article 370 during the meeting. 'Our focus should not be restoration of statehood but restoration of Article 370,' Ruhullah is said to have told the meeting. He reportedly said that the party was defeating the reason for which it got the mandate. 'We need to be on the wrong side of the power, and on the right side of the people.'
Indian Express
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
National Conference a divided house: Why Omar Abdullah, Aga Ruhullah were at loggerheads at recent party meeting
A day after reports of a major disagreement in the National Conference (NC) between Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and party MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, the party appeared to get into damage control mode by claiming that the meeting was held in a 'healthy and respectful' environment and that Mehdi did not walk out as claimed earlier. While the Srinagar MP has been critical of the NC's stand on various issues for a long time, according to insiders, at the working committee meeting on Saturday, he questioned the party's 'departure from its ideological stand' and 'abandoning' the core promises made to the people in the election manifesto. Sources in the NC said Ruhullah asked the party brass, including the CM, that while it attacked Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari for 'normalising' the post-2019 situation, its stand was no different as it had departed from its core promises made in the manifesto, including the restoration of special status and the return of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. Ruhullah is said to have been annoyed by party members' praise for Omar's governance, comparing the working committee meeting with a 'public milan'. 'We are betraying the people by abandoning the core promises we made in our manifesto,' he told his party colleagues. 'Our fight is for Article 370 and not for day-to-day governance. It includes statehood but goes far beyond it.' Ruhullah said his party had also failed to take a stand in favour of releasing political prisoners, autonomy, and the Constitutional identity of Jammu and Kashmir. The Srinagar MP's stand on key issues such as special status for J&K, identity, reservation, and political prisoners made him a popular figure in the Valley. During the Assembly elections last year, he was one of the most sought-after star campaigners from the party. The sense of goodwill, however, did not last for long and late last year, the MP called for a peaceful protest outside the CM's residence, demanding 'rationalisation of the reservation policy'. Mehdi also publicly acknowledged that the channels of communication between him and Omar were not open. NC sources said on Saturday Omar, taken aback by Ruhullah's criticism, pointed out that the key issues of dignity, identity, and rights of people could only be addressed once Jammu and Kashmir got back statehood. He asked the MP to contest the next Assembly bypolls and be 'part of the government'. The CM also told the MP that the party did not question his decision to contest the parliamentary elections, though he had earlier said he would not contest polls after the abrogation of J&K's special status. This did not go down well with Ruhullah, according to those present at the meeting. 'Let's get this straight. You approached me,' the MP told Omar amid a stunned silence in the room. He then offered to resign from Parliament 'if it helps restore clarity' about the NC's 'original cause'. The MP said his interactions with people indicated that they were feeling 'disillusioned and abandoned by a party that once stood for something bigger than power'. Sources said at the meeting Omar tried to brush aside the MP's accusations and said that he meets people from across the Union Territory who tell him they 'want basic governance'. When Omar made this point, Ruhullah walked out, according to those present. However, the party's chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq denied this, saying, 'Aga Ruhullah did not stage any walkout. He was present throughout the discussions, and everything transpired in a healthy and respectful environment. He (Ruhullah) took proper permission before exiting the meeting.' An NC leader said Ruhullah's stand was 'not pragmatic' and that Omar was being realistic by 'focusing on governance'. 'This is a long fight, and we have to move step by step. We can't rush through and make everyone an enemy. We hope Ruhullah sahib realises this and moves shoulder to shoulder with other leaders,' he said.
The Hindu
25-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Cryptic tweets by J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, National Conference MP Ruhullah hint at friction within party
Cryptic tweets on X by J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and ruling National Conference (NC) Member of Parliament (MP) Aga Syed Ruhullah, amid reports of growing ideological differences, on Sunday (May 25, 2025) gave credence to the brewing tension within the ruling party. Quoting a couplet from a local poet, Janbaaz Kishtwari, Mr. Ruhullah wrote on X: 'Either rise and become such a sukhanvar (orator/poet/speaker) who serves a purpose for the nation; Or sit in the comfort of the zanpaan (palanquin).' The NC parliamentarian's tweet on X followed Mr. Abdullah's oblique reference post. 'There are doers and there are talkers. That's why I don't talk as much as some people I know.' He did not qualify the tweet or its context further. Sunday musing There are doers & there are talkers. That's why I don't talk as much as some people I know. — Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 25, 2025 These tweets assumed significance as Mr. Ruhullah reportedly expressed a dissenting voice during a meeting of the ruling NC on May 21, where it passed a seven-point resolution in favour of special status and restoration of Statehood. Sources in the NC said Mr. Ruhullah sought the party's focus towards ideological goalposts like the restoration of Article 370 rather than issues of governance. The MP told the NC meeting to pursue the election manifesto, which promised the release of political prisoners, the restoration of greater autonomy, and the safeguarding of the constitutional identity of J&K, and warned of negative consequences if the party drifted away from its foundational narrative. However, the NC refuted reports that Mr. Ruhullah left the May 21 meeting in a huff. 'Such reports are fabrications. We talked cordially in the meeting. Ruhullah didn't walk out. He left with permission from Dr. Farooq Abdullah and CM Abdullah due to a family emergency. All members, including him, supported the resolution on special status,' NC leader and MLA Tanvir Sadiq. 'It's an attempt to blunt the NC resolution passed by the NC. It's done by opposition parties,' he added.
The Print
24-05-2025
- Politics
- The Print
NC's Aga Ruhullah walked out of working committee meet after clash with Omar. Here's what happened
Sources said that during the meeting, attended by all the senior leaders, Ruhullah criticised the overall functioning of the party under Omar and the 'direction' it has taken over the past few months. 'He expressed his disappointment in the way things have been progressing and publicly confronted the core working committee. He explained the situation and ultimately chose to walk out of the meeting as a mark of protest,' said a source familiar with the matter. According to sources in the NC, this was the first working committee meeting of the party after the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, and a number of items were to be taken up, including political agenda and functioning of the NC. The meeting took place on Wednesday. New Delhi: Lok Sabha MP and National Conference (NC) leader Aga Ruhullah Mehdi walked out of a party working committee meeting after a clash with J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah earlier this week, ThePrint has learnt. Some who attended the meeting told ThePrint that a number of leaders expressed satisfaction with the functioning of the government under Omar's leadership, while Ruhullah offered a sharp critique of the government as well as the party. 'He tried to address the issue of the party's ideological failure and the way the government is cosying up to the reality being presented by Delhi,' said one of the attendees, not wanting to be named. Another attendee told ThePrint Ruhullah said that the way things are progressing, 'it means that the party does not believe in the trust and mandate that has been bestowed upon them by the people of Kashmir'. 'We should stop treating the working committee meeting as a public milan. If we are not delivering on the promises we made in the manifesto, we are letting our own people down. Whether it is Article 370, or other issues, we have not moved an inch. Statehood will come but let's focus on Article 370,' Ruhullah was quoted as having said. This is not the first time Ruhullah has openly defied his party. Last December, the Srinagar MP had led a protest by Kashmiri students outside Omar's residence, demanding a revamp of the reservation policy in Jammu & Kashmir. Ruhullah had then faced criticism from his party colleague Salman Sagar for joining the protest. A close aide of Ruhullah said the MP had asked his government to focus on 'bigger' concerns rather than addressing issues related to 'bijli, paani and sadak'. 'As things unfolded, Omar Abdullah got irritated and even suggested to Ruhullah that he contest the by-election and be part of the government to make a change. He said Ruhullah was being two-faced as he had earlier said he would not contest the elections after Article 370,' the aide told ThePrint. Sources said it was at this juncture that Ruhullah decided to walk out of the meeting while maintaining that he had never expressed a desire to contest the Lok Sabha elections. Abdullah had in April said he would not use the Pahalgam terror attack to press for his government demand of statehood for the Union territory. An NC leader told ThePrint that Ruhullah has been finding it difficult to adjust to the J&K government's relations with the Centre. (Edited by Gitanjali Das) Also Read: What's the Tulbul project Omar, Mehbooba are sparring over & why has it been in limbo for decades
