My Voice No Longer Matters As No One Listens to Me: MP Aga Ruhullah on Ties with NC

Says Silence Began After His Support for Student Protest Against Reservation Policy

Srinagar, Apr 15: National Conference MP from Srinagar, Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, has said that the party has “virtually ended” all communication with him, especially following his participation in a student protest against the controversial reservation policy outside the CM’s residence last year.

“Until the Assembly elections, my opinions mattered. Even if the party disagreed with my methods, it still supported my ideas. But after the reservation protests, the party stopped engaging with me,” Ruhullah said during a session on X Space, as per a news agency.

He added that the disconnect started soon after the elections. “From the time they persuaded me to contest the Lok Sabha elections to just before the Assembly polls, I was consulted. But soon after, my views stopped being acknowledged,” he said.

Ruhullah expressed disappointment over the party’s recent stance, saying the NC leadership has not sought his inputs in a long time, even though he continues to represent the party in Parliament. “There are no takers for my political thinking anymore,” he said.

However, the Srinagar MP clarified that he refrained from confronting the party directly due to an understanding of its political compulsions. “I know they have to manage equations with the central government for governance. That’s why I didn’t impose my stance on them. At least no one can say that I cost them statehood,” he remarked.

He attributed the fallout to his support for the December 23 protest. “I didn’t organise any protest. It was a spontaneous gathering of students who felt betrayed. I just stood with them. If my presence helped raise their voice, I consider it my duty fulfilled,” Ruhullah stated. “Call it a protest or anything else, it doesn’t matter. If standing with students made me an enemy in the party, I’m okay with that.”

“I have a moral duty to speak for my people both within and outside the party. But this disconnect is eating me up from the inside,” he added.

Ruhullah emphasized that his politics was driven by conscience rather than ambition. “What I say comes from my conscience, not from any political design. I don’t need to prove it to anyone. God is my judge.”

The protest he supported was held against a new reservation policy which, according to students, reduced the open merit quota to about 30 percent, allocating the remaining seats to reserved categories. The move triggered anxiety among general category aspirants.

In response, CM Omar Abdullah had stated that a Cabinet sub-committee would re-examine the policy and that stakeholder consultations were underway.

Notably, on Saturday, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) filed a chargesheet against 22 individuals, including Ruhullah and six of his relatives, alleging manipulation of land revenue records. Dismissing the charges as baseless, Ruhullah responded to a question about whether there had been any communication from the party following the ACB chargesheet. He said that no one from the National Conference had contacted him. “Had they done so, they would’ve known the facts of the case,” he said, indirectly highlighting concerns over the party’s internal communication.