Srinagar, Sept 29: Srinagar Lok Sabha MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi on Tuesday questioned the ruling National Conference over what he described as a dilution of the mandate received in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, alleging that “convenience” was being portrayed as confusion.
Speaking to reporters, Ruhullah said the people had voted for the National Conference with a clear expectation that it would fight for the restoration of constitutional and political guarantees and what he described as having been taken away on August 5.
“We will fight only for the restoration of our constitutional rights. We will fight for the restoration of what was taken away from us on August 5. We will fight for the restoration of political and constitutional guarantees,” he said.
Ruhullah questioned the party’s pre-election position that those speaking about statehood were working on the BJP’s agenda.
“What happened to that resolution? What happened to the resolution that we placed before the people and on which the people voted?” he asked.
He said voters had backed the National Conference so that it would fight against the decisions of August 5 and seek restoration of constitutional guarantees.
Ruhullah alleged that the mandate had subsequently been diluted through a series of resolutions and amendments in the Assembly.
“First there was one resolution, then another resolution to dilute the same resolution, and then amendments to yet another resolution to amend it. This is a joke with the people of Kashmir,” he said.
Questioning the party’s clarity of purpose, Ruhullah asked why it had sought votes if it was uncertain about the objective it intended to pursue through the Assembly.
“If they themselves were confused, if they had no clarity, if they did not have the resolve to fight, why did they go before the people? Why did they deceive them?” he said.
He also questioned the focus on statehood, saying that if the election was solely about restoration of statehood, there was no need for the National Conference to act as an intermediary.
“If this was a fight only for statehood, they should have kept themselves out of the election altogether. People could have gone directly to the BJP for statehood. What was the need for a mediator?” Ruhullah said.
He maintained that the people of Jammu and Kashmir had voted with clarity and consolidation to send an unambiguous message.
“We rejected everyone so that there would be no confusion and so that a clear and unambiguous message would go out that this mandate was for fighting against the decisions of August 5 and for the restoration of constitutional guarantees,” he said.
Ruhullah said the successive resolutions and amendments had diluted that mandate, rejecting the suggestion that the developments were merely the result of confusion.
“No, this is not a victim of confusion; it is a victim of convenience. And to justify that convenience, they are portraying it as confusion,” he said.
“Such a huge mandate has been turned into a joke. History will not forgive them,” Ruhullah added.
