Srinagar, Aug 17: National Conference Lok Sabha member from Srinagar Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi on Monday indicated that he may leave the party within the next few months after taking his campaign for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutional protections to a “certain level”, while ruling out any immediate resignation.
In an exclusive interview with news agency Kashmir News Service, Ruhullah said reports suggesting that he had already decided to quit the National Conference were premature, but acknowledged that he had made up his mind to eventually separate from the party if the prevailing situation did not change.
“The day will come when I will have to separate from them. The day will come soon,” he said, referring to remarks he had made earlier during a social media interaction and in an interview with the Hindustan Times.
Ruhullah said he intended to pursue several more initiatives before taking the final step, saying he wanted to take his political campaign to a level where it could have a wider impact.
“I want to do a few more things regarding this. I want to bring this fight to a certain level. After that, I will resign,” he said.
The Srinagar MP said he had used his position in Parliament to raise the issue of Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutional position, while also attempting to build wider political support around the issue.
“I did my best in Parliament. I had a key opinion generation. I spoke about 370,” he said, adding that he wanted to undertake further initiatives before deciding to step down.
Responding to remarks by senior National Conference leader and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah, Ruhullah said he held the veteran leader in high regard but maintained that the issue should not be reduced to differences between individuals.
He said the political discourse surrounding restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutional position should instead be viewed in the context of the aspirations of the people of the Union Territory.
Ruhullah also put forward a proposal under which Chief Minister Omar Abdullah could resign from the Assembly and contest a Lok Sabha election, arguing that the Chief Minister would be in a stronger position in Parliament to pursue issues relating to restoration of constitutional protections, statehood and the dignity of Jammu and Kashmir.
“I resign from the Member Parliament. The Chief Minister should come and resign. He should become the Member Parliament. He should go to the Parliament and fight the same battle that I am fighting,” Ruhullah said.
He argued that despite being an MP, he had been able to raise the issue in Parliament, organise conferences and engage with leaders of different political parties, and suggested that Omar Abdullah could potentially pursue the issue on a larger scale.
“If I am able to do this programme on 5th August … then he can do 10 times more than that,” he said.
Ruhullah said any such political initiative should encompass not only restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutional position but also statehood and what he described as the dignity of the region.
He further suggested that if Omar Abdullah entered Parliament, another MLA or minister could be entrusted with running the Union Territory administration, while the party could simultaneously build a sustained political movement for restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutional framework.
“The party should organise a movement … for the restoration of the constitution. The Chief Minister of today should not fight the battle alone; the party will support him in the fight,” he said.
Ruhullah maintained that governance and the broader political campaign could be pursued separately, with the government concentrating on administration while the party and political leadership took forward the constitutional and political issues.
Asked about the timeline for his possible resignation, Ruhullah said he was not contemplating an immediate departure but had already reached a decision in principle to leave after completing the initiatives he had set out to undertake.
“I am not even talking about a year. I am talking about a few months. I have made up my mind,” he said.
