National Conference (NC) MP Agha Ruhullah Mehdi has accused his own party’s Jammu and Kashmir government of not fulfilling its election promises and following the “BJP’s path of only political sloganeering”. Mehdi, who has been critical of the party leadership for almost a year, made this latest attack from Ganderbal, the assembly constituency of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, where a two-day working committee meeting is being held in the presence of NC President Farooq Abdullah and party vice president and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Mehdi said, “We had sought votes to restore the constitutional guarantee of Article 370. This was the main reason for us getting a huge mandate in the October 2024 assembly elections. We had promised to make efforts for the release of political prisoners. We have to fulfill all our promises. We cannot adopt the language of the BJP after coming to power.” According to the MP, last year the focal point of the election campaign was Article 370, but after the formation of the government, the party has started emphasizing on restoration of statehood. In the words of Mehdi, “If we move away from 370 and start demanding only statehood, then we are following the same line as the BJP.” He also said that he was not given any information about this working committee meeting. Mehdi expressed his displeasure and said, “I have been a permanent member since 2002. This is the first time that I have not been invited.”
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Mehdi says that his dispute with the party is about the fact that the party should have worked on the issue on which votes were sought. “One year has passed, but we have not worked on our political and administrative agenda. Rationalization of reservations has not happened. We cannot tell those open merit candidates who are crossing the age limit that we still have five more years. The promise of providing 200 units of free electricity is also incomplete.” He stressed that this is not a protest but an attempt to remind the party of its promises, as last year, after a long time, the public reposed confidence in the mainstream parties and gave a big mandate to the NC.
Mehdi also hit back at Deputy Chief Minister Surendra Chaudhary’s statement that he should raise the issues in Parliament, “not to remain in the limelight.” “There is no principle or direction in their politics, first BJP, then PDP, and now NC,” Mehdi said. The MP also criticized the ongoing anti-encroachment campaign in the Valley and said people had elected the NC so that “what is happening in Uttar Pradesh does not happen in Kashmir.”
If seen, this sharp comment of National Conference MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi not only exposes serious layers of disagreement within the party, but is also an important warning in the current political circumstances of Jammu and Kashmir. Election promises have always had a deep psychological and social impact in Kashmir politics. If there are facts in Mehdi’s allegations, then it is certainly a worrying sign for the NC government that the priorities of election promises have started changing after coming to power. Release of political prisoners, review of reservation structure and promises related to public welfare, these issues are not just political slogans.
Keeping the MP out of the working committee meeting also raises questions. If a permanent member is not invited for the first time in 22 years, it may indicate not just an organizational lapse but a tendency to suppress active dissent. If seen, in democratic politics, criticism is not an opposition to the party, but an important pillar of accountability.