Srinagar: Lok Sabha MP Ruhullah Mehdi on Saturday said he will soon announce his political future after a “discussion with the people of Jammu and Kashmir”, weeks after he decided to part ways with the National Conference (NC) on “ideological grounds”.
Mehdi had announced that he would quit the Lok Sabha and resign from the primary membership of the NC on November 3, coinciding with the 26th death anniversary of his father Aga Syed Mehdi, who was killed by terrorists.
Mehdi won the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency in 2024. However, he has had frequent disagreements with NC leadership over its shift in stance on the restoration of Article 370, and for failing to fulfill the promises the party made during the elections.
Shortly after Mehdi announced he was quitting, NC patriarch Farooq Abdullah dared him to contest elections independently.
“First, let me free myself from certain chains on November 3. Let me break those chains, let me cut those ropes,” Mehdi told reporters in Ganderbal district in central Kashmir, in response to a question about whether he would join any other political party or form a new one.
The parliamentarian said he would discuss his political future with the people of J&K.
“I will sit down with everyone, especially with the youth. Whatever decision is made, it will be a collective one — whether to form a new party, (or) not form one, or what to do next. It will be a collective decision taken together with the people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially the youth,” he said.
To a question about the health minister’s reported comments that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah did not want to contest the assembly elections but was pressurised by the party, Mehdi said the CM should have taken a principled stand.
“There is something called a principled stand. If you take a principled stand, then no matter what pressure comes, you can face that pressure,” he said.
“Now tell me, was that his principled stand? If it was a principled stand, then why did he abandon it under someone else’s pressure? You cannot trust a person like that — someone who changes his principled stand when pressured. How can we trust that if they take a stand today, they won’t alter it under someone’s duress tomorrow?” he added.
Mehdi said leadership means conviction and taking a stand.
“If a person can be forced to change decisions under pressure, then obviously, such a person is not a leader, nor can they be relied upon,” he added.
The rebel leader also asserted there was no such pressure from the party.
“I am a witness to all those inner workings; I was a firsthand participant in them. There was no massive pressure from the party asking him to change his decision. Until it was his personal wish, his personal need, he termed that personal need as pressure and took that decision himself,” the MP said.
He said Omar could have resisted the pressure and shown real leadership.
“He could have made someone else chief minister, someone outside the family could have been appointed, and he could have played a leadership role. But the chief ministership, after all, is a temptation, and he (Abdullah) couldn’t resist that temptation,” Mehdi added.