 Early Times Report
Jammu, Nov 27: A fresh round of tension has gripped the National Conference (NC) after its Srinagar Lok Sabha member, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, skipped the party’s crucial two-day Working Committee meeting that began in Srinagar on Thursday. His absence has once again highlighted the widening gulf between the influential Shia leader and the party’s top brass.
The meeting, chaired by NC president Dr. Farooq Abdullah and attended by Vice President and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, saw the participation of all Working Committee members and special invitees. However, Ruhullah’s conspicuous absence triggered speculation about deepening dissent within the party ranks.
Ruhullah told reporters in Ganderbal that he had no information about the meeting and insisted that he was not invited — a claim contradicted by NC MLA Abdul Majeed Larmi, who maintained that the MP had indeed been extended an invitation.
“If the Working Committee meeting is going on, I am a permanent member of it. This is the first time since 2002 that I have not been invited,” Ruhullah said, calling the development unprecedented in his over two-decade association with the committee.
The Srinagar MP has, in recent months, openly clashed with the party over its stand on key political issues, particularly reservations and the NC’s post-election conduct.
He reiterated that the party must uphold the commitments it made during the 2024 Assembly campaign, especially on safeguarding constitutional protections linked to Article 370.
“We made promises to the people that we would fight for the return of protections linked to Article 370. We received votes on that promise. We cannot switch to a different language after getting that mandate,” he said, in a pointed message to the leadership.
Speaking on the long-pending reservation issue, Ruhullah said students had been made to suffer due to delays in implementation.
“More than a year has passed. If this matter remains unresolved after a month, I will again sit with the students until the issue is settled,” he warned, indicating he may intensify his activism outside the party structure if necessary.
Ruhullah further cautioned that mainstream political parties risk losing credibility if they fail to honour their manifestos.
“If the party does not follow its own manifesto, it will lose people’s trust — and losing trust is the biggest loss,” he said, adding that the public now expects political parties to demonstrate consistency between their promises and their actions.
Although the National Conference has attempted to downplay internal differences, Ruhullah’s repeated public criticism and his absence from a key organisational meeting indicate a clear escalation. Party sources say the leadership may soon attempt to “pacify and reconcile” with the outspoken MP, but his growing defiance suggests that the internal debate within the NC is far from over. |