In August this year, Ruhullah had written to NC president Farooq Abdullah and hinted at a resignation. (File photo)Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi has formally announced his decision to resign from the National Conference (NC), slamming his party for not living up to its “own poll promise of fighting for the restoration of Article 370”, among other issues.Ruhullah has been estranged with his party for over a year with differences beginning over the issue of rationalisation of reservation in J&K.The MP’s office wrote on social media on Friday, “Ruhullah Mehdi will resign from the National Conference and his Lok Sabha seat on November 3, 2026.”Also Read | Omar Abdullah hands power, finance to new ministers in J&K cabinet reshuffleRuhullah’s office wrote on X, “The crown prince and his cabal treat J&K as an estate passed down through the family. They expect the people to vote, then know their place.”Continuing his attack on the party, the post said, “They take us for fools who cannot tell a broken promise from a political necessity. Ask them to honour their own manifesto, and they lecture us on how little we understand realpolitik.”Ruhullah has also criticised his party for not “living up to their own poll promise of fighting for the restoration of Article 370”.Must Read | If integration of Kashmir is to mean anything, it must include people, not just territoryThe post said, “We demanded the restoration of Article 370, the release of prisoners and the protection of our rights. They sought power on those promises, then treated us as fools for expecting them to deliver. We refuse to lend our name to this humiliation. There is no fixing this rot from within.”Story continues below this adArguing that the Srinagar seat was won on “a promise” to the people, the post asserted that “Ruhullah Mehdi will surrender it rather than make himself an accomplice to that promise’s betrayal.”Also Read | National Conference veterans in, Jammu face out as Omar Abdullah shakes up cabinetThe post stated that he will address the people on the death anniversary of his father, politician Aga Syed Mehdi, at Behshit-e-Zehra Park, Budgam, on November 3. “We welcome all to join,” the post said.In August this year, Ruhullah had written to NC president Farooq Abdullah and hinted at a resignation.Taking a swipe at the party’s repeated assertions on demanding restoration of statehood from the Centre, the MP stated in the letter, which was released on social media, that by accepting statehood as the “outer limit of our political horizon”, they are “legitimising and normalising the constitutional assault of August 2019 while signalling that the BJP’s political settlement for Jammu-Kashmir is acceptable to us.”Story continues below this adAlso Read | Break-up inevitable? Farooq Abdullah’s swipe at party MP Ruhullah sparks resignation buzzIn doing so, he had said, “We also risk surrendering the constitutional protections that are indispensable to our people, given our unique geo-political reality, culture, traditions, and fragile environment.”In that letter, he had also said, “Rest assured, the resignation will come. It would have come even without you asking but before that must come accountability.” Naveed Iqbal is a Senior Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, and reports from Jammu and Kashmir.... Read More