Srinagar: National Conference candidate for the bypoll to the Budgam Assembly segment, Aga Syed Mehmood, on Wednesday said it was for the estranged party member, Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, to decide whether he would campaign for him.
“It is for him (Ruhullah) to decide whether he wants to join the campaign or not. He is a party man. He is my relative also, I cannot deny that. However, it is his choice whether he wants to campaign or not,” Mehmood told reporters while campaigning.
The polling for elections to the Budgam seat will be held on November 11, and counting of votes will be done on November 14.
Ruhullah, the National Conference Lok Sabha member from Srinagar, has been at loggerheads with the party leadership over the reservation policy as he sided with protesting students against the Omar Abdullah government last year.
The students were demanding a review of the quota system, which provides for only 30 percent of seats for the general category candidates who account for nearly 70 percent of the population.
Mehmood sought to clarify his earlier statement about Ruhullah, blaming the media for distorting his comments.
“I did not say that it does not matter whether he comes to campaign or not. Ruhullah belongs to a dynasty. He has a (strong) backing,” he said.
Mehmood, however, stood by his assertion that Ruhullah was an MLA three times and now an MP because of the National Conference.
“He is in the parliament or was in the assembly earlier because of the National Conference. He became a Parliament member only after the National Conference gave him a mandate. He could not have won on his own. He has become MLA three times since 2002 and MP last year due to NC. Aga Syed Mehmood is contesting because of the party,” he asserted.
After filing his nomination papers on Monday, Mehmood had claimed that Ruhullah would campaign for the NC.
However, within minutes, the Lok Sabha member poured cold water on the claim.
“My loyalty is to my conscience and principles. While I hold respect for my elders in my family, I request them not to belittle my fight (our fight). If they can’t comprehend it and be part of it, at least don’t drag me and my struggle to this level,” Ruhullah posted on X.
Meanwhile, Ruhullah reiterated his “commitment to the people” today as he wrote on Facebook page: “I was not shaped in any agency, I was shaped by the people of Jammu & Kashmir. They taught me what no political institution could: courage, patience, and conviction. I will always stand with them, for they have been and will always remain my first and foremost priority.”
His statement apparently comes in response to the Aga Syed Mehmood’s statement that “NC made Ruhullah; Ruhullah didn’t make NC”.
Pertinently, MP Ruhullah made his decision public earlier, announcing to stay away from the campaigning for the by-poll. He had said that he would “vote, not campaign.” (With inputs from PTI & KNO)
