J&K: Aga Ruhullah to resign as MP, quit National Conference on November 3 amid Article 370 rift

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) rebel Member Parliament (MP) Aga Ruhullah will resign from the Lok Sabha and quit the party on November 3, deepening his confrontation with the party leadership over its stand on Article 370 and restoration of statehood.

Ruhullah’s decision comes amid an increasingly public disagreement with party president Farooq Abdullah over the NC’s political position after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.

In a three-page letter to Abdullah on Friday, Ruhullah questioned the party’s shift towards making restoration of statehood the principal political demand, arguing that this could amount to accepting the post-2019 constitutional changes as the new political normal.

The ruling party MP pointed out that restoration of Article 370 was part of the NC’s 2024 manifesto and questioned why the party had made the promise when the BJP was already in power.

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“Why did we include the restoration of Article 370 in our manifesto?” he asked, suggesting that the party had either made a promise it knew it could not keep or had invoked the issue for political gain.

He also rejected the argument that restoration of Article 370 was no longer a realistic political demand.

Ruhullah said the issue was not merely about the restoration of a constitutional provision but about protecting Jammu and Kashmir’s “dignity, honour, constitutional guarantees and liberties”.

He argued that statehood could not be treated as an adequate substitute for what was taken away in 2019.

The MP also invoked Abdullah’s own political record, recalling that he had been chief minister when the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly passed the Autonomy Resolution.

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“Why, then, has the mere mention of constitutional guarantees for Jammu-Kashmir now become so offensive?” Ruhullah asked.

The exchange follows Abdullah’s recent public criticism of Ruhullah and demand that he resign. Ruhullah, in his letter, said his resignation would come even without Abdullah asking for it, but added that “before that must come accountability”.

Ruhullah also defended his credentials within the NC, saying Abdullah himself had invited him to join the party.

He said he was the “inheritor of a long tradition of martyrdom” and the son of a martyr.

His resignation could leave the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat vacant and potentially turn the dispute into an electoral test if a by-election is held.