AdvertismentSpeaking to reporters, Ruhullah was asked about Farooq Abdullah’s call for his resignation.
“It is not possible that Doctor Sahib asks me for something and I don’t give it to him.
It is not possible that I send him back empty-handed,” Ruhullah said.
AdvertismentFarooq Abdullah had said Ruhullah was free to raise the issue of Article 370 in Parliament, but questioned his approach to the matter.
“If he thinks Article 370 can be restored, he should take up the issue in Parliament,” Abdullah said.
Srinagar, Aug 25: A day after National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah asked Srinagar MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi to resign from the Lok Sabha and seek a fresh mandate, the MP on Tuesday indicated that he would respond to the veteran leader’s demand in the coming days, while stressing his deep respect for Abdullah.
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Speaking to reporters, Ruhullah was asked about Farooq Abdullah’s call for his resignation. He did not directly say whether he would accept the challenge, but his response suggested that he was weighing the demand seriously.
“It is not possible that Doctor Sahib asks me for something and I don’t give it to him. It is not possible that I send him back empty-handed,” Ruhullah said.
“He has asked for something at this age. I respect him. I don’t want him to ask me for something and I return it to him empty-handed,” he added.
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“I will give an answer in a few days,” Ruhullah said.
His remarks came a day after Farooq Abdullah publicly challenged him to resign from Parliament and return to the electorate if he believed that his 2024 Lok Sabha victory was primarily the result of his personal political standing.
“If you think people voted for you, resign and go back to them. We will see how many votes you get,” Abdullah had said.
The exchange follows a period of increasingly public differences between Ruhullah and the National Conference leadership over the party’s political approach, particularly on issues including restoration of Article 370, statehood and the constitutional rights of Jammu and Kashmir.
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Farooq Abdullah had said Ruhullah was free to raise the issue of Article 370 in Parliament, but questioned his approach to the matter.
“If he thinks Article 370 can be restored, he should take up the issue in Parliament,” Abdullah said.
The NC president also defended the importance of party organisation and discipline, arguing that candidates contesting elections on the party ticket benefit from the support of the organisation and its workers.
Ruhullah, however, has maintained that his political position reflects the mandate given to him by the people and has repeatedly argued that the fight for Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutional rights remains unfinished.
In recent days, he has also indicated that he could consider resigning from Parliament after taking his campaign on constitutional rights and protections to a certain stage. On Sunday, he said Jammu and Kashmir had continued to lose powers over the years and alleged that its political leadership had failed to regain them.
The latest exchange has therefore raised questions about whether the disagreement will remain an internal debate within the National Conference or develop into a more serious political confrontation.
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Ruhullah was also asked about the reopening of cases relating to Kashmiri Pandits.
He said justice should be delivered but cautioned against turning the process into an instrument of revenge.
“Everyone should be aware of Kashmiri Pandits. Justice should be delivered. There should be no revenge in the name of justice,” he said.
The statement places Ruhullah’s position in the context of both accountability and reconciliation, stressing that any investigation or legal process should be aimed at delivering justice rather than settling scores.
