In a significant development, ruling National Conference (NC) leader and MP Ruhullah Mehdi on Friday issued a stern warning against any attempts to misinterpret the resolution seeking restoration of J&K’s special status passed by the Assembly in its recent session.
Ruhullah was seemingly referring to NC’s alliance partner Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and J&K Pradesh Congress Committee President Tariq Karra’s remarks that the demand for restoration of Article 370 was not raised in the resolution passed by the Jammu & Kashmir Assembly.
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Much political significance is being attached to Ruhullah’s warning to the Congress leaders as Article 370 has become a poll plank of BJP in the Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in their rallies were questioning the stand of Congress on the issue.
Annoyed by the statements of top Congress leaders, Ruhullah wrote on X; “No INC president or JKPCC president has a right to misinterpret the resolution passed by the J&K Legislative Assembly in the last session. The purpose of that resolution is to express the people’s disapproval of all the amendments and unconstitutional abrogation of the guaranteed (Special) Status of J&K from the year 1953 to 2019. This resolution calls for the return of all the guarantees in their original shape and form as they were operational before 1953, including Art 370 and 35A. Let alone JKPCC or any other entity, even if anyone from within @JKNC_ tries to misinterpret the resolution otherwise and against the wishes of the people, they will be rejected and pushed by the people to a corner of irrelevance as the allies of BJP were in the last election.”
Ruhullah had earlier embarrassed CM Omar Abdullah by writing a letter to him in which he asked him (Omar) to respect the people’s mandate and meet their aspirations by prioritising the release of political prisoners, reducing electricity tariffs, filling vacancies in government departments, and reviewing the verification process.
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly in its first session, passed a resolution on special status, seeking a “dialogue” with the Union Territory’s elected representatives for restoration of the same as well as constitutional guarantees, and to “work out constitutional mechanisms for restoring these provisions”. The resolution was moved by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary.
Thereafter, the 5-day session of the Assembly witnessed unruly scenes with the BJP members protesting against the resolution for three days.
Defending the resolution, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said in the Assembly that the people of Jammu and Kashmir “found their voice” after the passage of the resolution on the restoration of the special status of J&K and it seems that the “burden is off their shoulders”.
The PDP, Peoples Conference, and AIP members, however, called the resolution a “weak” document.
