Budgam: National Conference MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi on Sunday issued a strong public message to his party leadership, urging them to acknowledge mistakes committed in the recently concluded assembly elections and return to what he described as the discipline and principles displayed during past electoral contests.
Addressing his workers in Budgam, Ruhullah said the party must introspect honestly and apologise to the people for decisions that have damaged its credibility. He said political accountability is essential and warned that dishonesty with the electorate will only push the party towards decline.
He told the gathering that the party should not assume that people will continue to seek its favour or fear its authority. Ruhullah said he had consciously maintained silence throughout the election period, refraining from supporting or opposing any candidate, but added that silence should not be mistaken for weakness.
He further cautioned the leadership that the National Conference must come back to its disciplined path or face the consequences of public disillusionment. He said if the party fails to correct its course, he will not hesitate to speak openly.
Ruhullah reiterated that only transparency, humility and sincere engagement with the people can restore trust. He said the public expects accountability and that the party must rise to that expectation before it is too late.
In a scathing attack on CM Omar Abdullah, without naming him, Ruhullah said that the person who won Budgam assembly polls had promised to stand for the rights of Kashmiri voters.
“I was standing with him, here at this spot and asking for votes to restore peoples’ rights that were snatched in 2019,” he said, adding, “and once results of assembly polls were declared, the person (Omar Abdullah) started saying things that BJP and Apni Party were saying, whom we declared traitors during our election campaign.”
Reacting to Abdullah’s statement that Ruhullah has committed political suicide and the candidate who has won the election will never allow him to win this seat in future, the MP said, “Sad that the person still thinks about winning seats and not the real issues.”
