SRINAGAR: The ruling National Conference (NC) on Friday launched a scathing attack on its former leader and Srinagar Member of Parliament Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi following his resignation from both the party and the Lok Sabha. In a strongly worded statement, the NC accused Ruhullah of remaining a willing participant in the party and government for decades and choosing to resign only after being directed to do so by party president Farooq Abdullah.
Responding to Ruhullah’s criticism of the NC leadership, particularly Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, the party described his remarks as a reflection of “mental and moral bankruptcy” and an expression of political narcissism. The NC said it was ironic that a politician who had spent nearly 25 years within the party, serving as a three-time MLA, minister and now MP, was suddenly portraying himself as a critic of the very organisation that had shaped his political career.
“He only remembered to resign when he was told to by the party president. The same way he only remembered 2010 today when it suited him. He is a man who happily remained in office as a minister in 2010 until he was removed in a general reshuffle. He was happy to fight elections in 2014 on JKNC ticket and didn’t remember 2010 then. In fact he conveniently forgot all about it until 2026, 16 years later,” the NC statement said.
The party also took exception to the tone of Ruhullah’s resignation speech, saying that while he invoked the Holy Quran and spoke about dignity and respect, his address was filled with “derogatory, abusive and unparliamentary language” directed at the NC leadership. According to the party, the language used by the former MP revealed more about his own character than about those he was attacking.
The NC further questioned Ruhullah’s decision to cite the issues of restoration of special status and reservations as the reasons for quitting the party. It alleged that his newfound concerns were politically convenient and lacking in consistency. The NC pointed out that Ruhullah had welcomed and praised the J&K Assembly resolution seeking restoration of special status after it was passed on November 6, describing it at the time as a promise fulfilled. The party asked why he now appeared to be distancing himself from the same position.
Questioning his parliamentary record, the NC said Ruhullah had failed to use his position in the Lok Sabha to build political support for the restoration of Article 370 or statehood. While acknowledging that he had successfully mobilised support from more than 100 MPs for an impeachment motion against Allahabad High Court judge Shekhar Kumar Yadav, the party asked whether he had ever made a similar effort to gather support for J&K’s constitutional and political rights. It challenged him to reveal whether he had moved any resolution, bill or coordinated campaign in Parliament aimed at restoring either special status or full statehood.
The party also accused Ruhullah of remaining silent on issues it considers central to J&K’s democratic concerns. It said he had not effectively highlighted in Parliament what the NC terms the undermining of the elected government’s authority by the Lieutenant Governor’s administration, nor had he adequately raised concerns about departments functioning under what the party described as “remote control” despite being under the elected government’s jurisdiction.
On the contentious issue of reservations, which became a major point of disagreement between Ruhullah and the NC government, the party asserted that the present reservation structure was inherited from the period of Lt. Governor’s rule and that it had itself identified the issue as a major concern. The NC said reservations were prominently featured in its election manifesto, leading to the formation of a cabinet sub-committee that recommended significant changes. However, it alleged that the implementation of those recommendations had been stalled by authorities beyond the elected government’s control.
The NC accused Ruhullah of targeting the state government while remaining silent on those responsible for the existing system. It argued that despite becoming MP six months before the Assembly elections and the formation of an elected government, he did not organise any major protest against the LG administration nor did he aggressively campaign on issues affecting open merit job aspirants, recruitment irregularities or alleged discrimination in employment opportunities.
Defending its political approach, the party reiterated that its push for restoration of statehood has never come at the expense of the demand for restoration of special status. It said the first major political move of the present government was the Assembly resolution on special status and that protection of J&K’s identity and constitutional rights remains central to the NC’s ideology. The party maintained that reclaiming what was lost after August 2019 requires “deft politics, not theatrics,” arguing that symbolic gestures and confrontational politics may generate headlines and social media attention but are unlikely to achieve meaningful results.
In its sharpest criticism, the NC alleged that Ruhullah’s resignation had come “too late” and accused him of aligning himself with forces opposed to the NC’s electoral mandate. The party claimed that while remaining within the NC, he played a role in weakening it politically, including during the Budgam Assembly by-election. It questioned why his conscience did not compel him to resign at that stage.
Concluding its rebuttal, the NC said it was “astonishing” that a leader who owed his entire political journey to the party had chosen to publicly attack it after benefiting from its support for more than two decades. The party accused Ruhullah of exhibiting a “narcissistic” political conduct and attempting to blame the organisation that, it said, had provided him every major political opportunity throughout his career.
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