Omar Abdullah on agitating party MP: Hope he protests in Delhi for statehood

He also pointed to the “changed atmosphere” in J&K and contrasted that once “you couldn’t think of protesting”, but now the MP’s “protest has reached the gates of the CM”. “See how things have changed. I remember when you could not think of protesting, our gates were locked when we sought to protest. But his (Ruhullah’s) protest reached the gates of the CM.”

MP Ruhullah had led a protest demonstration outside the CM’s Gupkar Road residence along with students seeking a rollback of the new reservation policy.

Omar said, “The MP protested outside my house. I hope that in the next Parliament session, he will hold a similar protest there as well and involve other parties and their MPs for J&K’s statehood.”

Without naming his party’s vice president, Ruhullah said in a post on X, “After 2019, my political stance has been crystal clear… I told my people that our fight must be for the restoration of 370 and the dignity it embodies for the people of Jammu & Kashmir.”

“I’ve been informed about an urge and desire to protest for statehood in Delhi. I am ready to participate in such a protest, and invite those prioritising statehood to organize it. I will also try to organise support from at least more than 100 Hon’ble MPs,” he said.

“At the same time I ought to remind,” he said, “that the abrogation of Article 370 was a calculated act of humiliation, and a deep wound deliberately inflicted upon us.”

“…Given this betrayal, this calculated attempt to break our spirit and subjugate our will, I cannot, in good conscience, sidestep from the fight for our special status and settle for the hollow promise of mere statehood,” he said.

Earlier, the NC’s youth president and Hazratbal MLA Salman Sagar accused Ruhullah of “sitting with the enemy” and “staging a drama”, by joining the anti-quota protest. With seemingly NC’s blessing, Sagar said the protest was not organised by the party but its rivals. “Unfortunately, our MP was there… in his individual capacity.”

Facing such criticism from the NC quarters for the first time since his open questioning of the Omar government, Ruhullah had The Indian Express, “I didn’t organise the protest, I just joined the students who wanted to take their voice to the CM… Their cause was genuine and their plea needed to be heard.”