JKNC MP questions party’s shift from restoration of Articles 370, 35A to statehood, asks what has changed in party’s stand
Srinagar, Aug 28: National Conference Lok Sabha member Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi has launched a sharp political challenge to party president Dr Farooq Abdullah over the JKNC’s position on Article 370, statehood and constitutional safeguards for Jammu and Kashmir, saying restoration of statehood cannot be treated as an adequate substitute for what was taken away in August 2019.
In a strongly worded letter to Abdullah, Ruhullah referred to the party president’s August 25 statement in which he questioned those seeking Article 370 while “begging from Delhi”. Ruhullah said the remarks resonated with the frustration felt by many in Jammu and Kashmir and questioned why he should face objections for raising the same questions within the party.
Ruhullah said that Jammu and Kashmir was now seeking statehood, which he described as a right recognised by the Supreme Court and a commitment made by the BJP in its 2024 Assembly election manifesto.
He argued that the JKNC’s position had effectively become no different from that of the BJP on statehood and questioned whether accepting statehood as the “outer limit” of Jammu and Kashmir’s political horizon amounted to legitimising and normalising the constitutional changes of August 2019.
The JKNC MP also questioned the party’s 2024 manifesto, which had promised restoration of Articles 370 and 35A.
Pointing out that the BJP was already in power when the manifesto was drafted, Ruhullah asked why the restoration of Article 370 was included in the document if the party believed that the regime which abrogated it would never restore it.
“Were we making promises we knew we could not keep or perhaps never truly intended to keep?” he asked, according to the letter.
Ruhullah said that if the party had invoked the events of August 2019 for political mileage only to abandon its promises after forming the government, it would amount to deliberately misleading a population that had voted for the party with hope, trust and the expectation that it would honour its word.
Defending his political position, Ruhullah said Article 370 was not merely a constitutional provision but represented the struggle for the dignity, honour, constitutional guarantees and liberties of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
He highlighted unemployment and lack of opportunities among the youth, concerns over land and resources, pressure on religious rights, traditions and language, besides environmental degradation caused by illegal deforestation, mining and construction in ecologically fragile areas.
“Our job as elected representatives is to fight this constant degradation and dehumanisation — and not to adjust our aspirations to what the BJP is willing to concede,” Ruhullah said.
He maintained that restoration of statehood could not be treated as an adequate substitute for what was taken away in August 2019 and called for continued efforts to secure constitutional guarantees protecting the people, their traditions, resources and land.
Ruhullah also recalled that Abdullah had been the Chief Minister when the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly passed the Autonomy Resolution, asking why the mention of constitutional guarantees for Jammu and Kashmir had now become so objectionable that the party president publicly demanded his resignation.
“What has changed — the aspirations of our people, or the JKNC’s willingness to stand up for them?” he asked.
On the resignation issue, Ruhullah made it clear that he would step down but insisted that accountability must come first.
“Rest assured, the resignation will come. It would have come even without you asking but before that must come accountability,” he said in the letter.
Ruhullah also hit back at what he described as a “rather disrespectful attack” over his political background, saying he was the inheritor of a long tradition of martyrdom and the proud son of a martyr.
He further said that he had not sought to become part of the JKNC and that Abdullah himself had invited him to join the party.
“Not many know this, Doctor Sahab. But you do,” Ruhullah said, urging Abdullah to remember this before making another public attack on his background.
The letter reflects a sharp disagreement between Ruhullah and the JKNC leadership over the party’s political roadmap on Article 370, statehood and constitutional safeguards for Jammu and Kashmir.
