SRINAGAR (The Thursday Times) — Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi announced on Tuesday that he is quitting Indian-administered Kashmir’s ruling National Conference and resigning as the MP for Srinagar, accusing the party of betraying its voters on the restoration of Article 370.
He made the announcement at a public gathering at Behisht-e-Zehra Park in Budgam, on the anniversary of the death of his father, Aga Syed Mehdi, who was killed in a bomb blast in 2000. The seat will fall vacant only once the Lok Sabha Speaker accepts his formal resignation.
Ruhullah said his differences with the party were about principle, naming Article 370, the special status New Delhi revoked in 2019, along with constitutional rights, reservation and the release of prisoners. He said he was not acting out of disappointment over any position.
He took direct aim at Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. “People who lose chairs get unhappy, but here we are throwing away a chair, and we are happy,” he said. “The chair you are sitting on right now is a source of sadness for both you and us.”
Ruhullah said he did not simply mean to leave one party for another, and that he wanted to build a platform of honest young people from the region.
Speaking earlier on Tuesday, National Conference spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said the party still hoped he would review his decision, and that it would miss an important voice on Article 370. Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhury called it an individual decision, and said the leadership would consider suggestions from unhappy legislators.
His exit deepens a crisis for the party. Last week, 17 of its legislators gave the Abdullahs a 15-day ultimatum over what they called “coterie culture”. Ruhullah won Srinagar in 2024 by about 188,000 votes.
