National Conference MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi
SRINAGAR: National Conference (NC) MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi accused Thursday his own party’s govt in J&K of “failing to fulfil electoral promises and following BJP’s approach of mere political slogans”.Mehdi, critical of the leadership for nearly a year, launched the latest attack from chief minister Omar Abdullah’s assembly constituency Ganderbal as the NC began a two-day working committee meeting under president Farooq Abdullah and the CM, who is also party vice-president.“We sought votes for restoration of constitutional guarantees under Article 370, and it was one of the main reasons we received a huge mandate in the (Oct 2024 assembly) polls. We promised to strive for the release of political prisoners. We must fulfil all commitments. We can’t adopt BJP’s language after coming to office,” the Srinagar MP told supporters in Ganderbal.According to Mehdi, NC’s election campaign last year was centered on Article 370 but it has focused on seeking statehood (restoration) since taking office. “If we shift from Article 370 to statehood, we are aligning with BJP’s line,” the MP argued. Mehdi claimed ignorance about NC’s meeting. “I am a permanent member of the working committee. This is the first time since 2002 that I have not been invited,” the MP said.Mehdi suggested that his disagreements with the party stemmed from his insistence that it must work on the issues over which votes were sought. “A year has passed. We have not worked on our political and governance agenda. We have not rationalised reservations in J&K. We cannot tell open-merit candidates who are crossing the age bar that we still have five years to act,” Mehdi said, adding the govt had not also kept its promise of 200 units of free electricity.Insisting that he was not protesting against his party but reminding it of its promises and manifesto, Mehdi pointed out that J&K’s people had reposed trust in mainstream political parties after a long time last year, handing NC a big mandate that must be honoured.Mehdi brushed away at statements by deputy CM Surinder Choudhary asking the MP to raise issues in Parliament instead of trying to stay in the limelight. “He (Choudhary) was earlier with BJP, then he joined PDP, and now he is in NC. In his politics there is no principle, no direction, no value,” Mehdi said.The MP also criticised the Omar-led govt over a demolition drive in the Valley against settlers, saying people had voted for NC so that “what is happening in Uttar Pradesh does not happen in Kashmir”.
