'Stand By My Decision To Quit NC': Aga Mehdi Amid Rift With Farooq Abdullah

In an exclusive chat, the Lok Sabha MP alleged he had been called a 'Delhi agent' for raising concerns over J&K.

In an interview with The Quint, Lok Sabha MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi said Rahul Gandhi has expressed outrage on behalf of both the students and the victims of pellet firing, but his outrage shouldn't be "selective". There are people who genuinely look up to him with hope, he added.

(Photo: Vibhushita Singh/The Quint)

“I stand by what I have said regarding my resignation," said Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, National Conference (NC) MP in the Lok Sabha, who announced that he would resign as an MP and quit the party on 3 November this year amid a widening rift with with party chairperson Farooq Abdullah.

In an exclusive interview with The Quint, Mehdi said that given the political environment over the past several months, there is a need to address people’s concerns and respond to the commitments made to them, rather than dismissing or ignoring their apprehensions.

"The focus should be on assessing how far the political agenda has progressed, identifying where the shortcomings lie, and recognising where corrective measures are needed," said Mehdi, a first-time MP who currently represents the Srinagar constituency in the Lok Sabha.

Mehdi's decision comes in the backdrop of public disagreements he has had with Abdullah over the NC's position on the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.

In a three-page letter to Abdullah last week, Mehdi questioned the NC's shift towards making the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood its primary demand, arguing that this would imply an official acceptance of the changes made to the erstwhile state's special status in August 2019.

Speaking to The Quint, Mehdi said that he had even been called a "Delhi agent" for expressing concerns about the future of Jammu and Kashmir.

"I have been called a 'Delhi agent' simply because I have been speaking about the issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir," he said, adding, "We need to raise our voice against the shrinking democratic space, because even in Parliament, our voices are being suppressed.”

When asked about the alleged firing of pellets against student protesters at Delhi's Jantar Mantar amid the NEET protests in July, Mehdi said the Delhi Police did what has been happening in Kashmir for years.

"Unfortunately, the pellets that were fired should never have been fired. Perhaps now those students have understood what the people of Kashmir went through when pellet guns were used against them. Maybe they have now realised what their fellow citizens in Kashmir must have felt when pellets were fired at them. We were called 'anti-national' for saying the same thing about Kashmiris back then."

Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, Lok Sabha MP

Mehdi remarked that the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has rightly expressed outrage on behalf of both the students and the victims of pellet firing, but his outrage shouldn't be "selective". There are people who genuinely look up to him with hope, he added.

Further, Mehdi alleged that the scope for democratic expression in the country is narrowing with each passing day.

"Anyone who speaks about people’s rights and raises genuine concerns is being suppressed. There is no longer enough democratic space for anyone—whether ordinary citizens, journalists, or politicians—to freely express their views," he told The Quint.