Hitting out at Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, his party’s MP Ruhullah Mehdi on Thursday said the fight for Jammu and Kashmir must center on restoration of Article 370 rather than settling for statehood, which he described as a “hollow promise.”
In a statement on X; Ruhullah reiterated his commitment to the cause, saying, “After 2019, my stance has been clear. Our fight must focus on reclaiming Article 370 and the dignity it symbolizes for the people of Jammu & Kashmir.”
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Calling for collective action, Ruhulla expressed his readiness to join a protest in Delhi with significant support. “I am prepared to participate and will strive to gather support from at least 100 MPs. Let those advocating statehood take the lead in organizing such a demonstration. January, the month when India’s Constitution was adopted, would be the ideal time,” the National Conference MP mocked at Omar.
“At the same time I ought to remind that the abrogation of Article 370 was a calculated act of humiliation, and a deep wound deliberately inflicted upon us. The subsequent demotion to a Union Territory was a further attempt to impress upon us the indignity of the abrogation”.
“The abrogation was a political statement, a declaration that our sacrifices mean nothing, and that our future is theirs to dictate. Given this betrayal, this calculated attempt to break our spirit and subjugate our will, I cannot, in good conscience, sidestep from the fight for our special status and settle for the hollow promise of mere statehood. Shouldn’t our voices first rise for our honor, our identity, and the autonomy we have long been denied?”, Ruhullah wrote.
“I think they should, and I will keep raising mine, louder each time”, he added.
