Budgam, Oct 21: Protests broke out in Ichgam, Budgam, and several other areas of central Kashmir on Tuesday following a viral video of Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary. In the footage, he was purportedly heard saying, “Who Agha? I don’t know him, I know only Agha Mehmood, who is our candidate for the Budgam by-elections.”
The remarks triggered widespread anger among locals and supporters of National Conference MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, who took to the streets demanding an apology from the Deputy CM for what they termed as a “disrespectful” statement against a senior political leader.
Visuals from protest sites showed large crowds chanting slogans and expressing strong opposition to Choudhary’s comments.
Amid mounting backlash, the Deputy CM issued a clarification, stating that his remarks were “misinterpreted” and taken out of context. Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Choudhary explained that there was “a lot of rush, noise, and commotion” at the venue when he made the statement, which led to confusion over whom he was referring to.
“Yesterday’s statement was not about Aga Ruhullah. There was a huge rush and noise at that time. I was speaking about the BJP candidate. Aga Ruhullah Sahib is an honourable MP and senior leader of the National Conference,” Choudhary clarified.
He further said that someone at the venue had asked him a question about “Aga”, to which he responded about the BJP candidate, not the MP. “Someone asked me a question about Aga… oh, the BJP candidate. I replied that I don’t know that Aga, I don’t recognise him. But as far as Aga Ruhullah Sahib is concerned, he’s a respected MP, I know him personally and have even visited his house,” he added.
The Deputy CM also accused sections of the media of distorting his comments to “increase TRPs”. “The media’s job now seems to be to twist statements for headlines. I have nothing to do with that,” he said.
Speaking on the upcoming Budgam by-election, Choudhary expressed confidence in the National Conference’s prospects, saying, “Budgam has always been a National Conference seat. Aga Ruhullah Sahib and Aga Mehmood Sahib will work together to ensure victory for the party. Under Aga Ruhullah Sahib’s leadership, we are confident that the NC candidate will win.”
Despite his clarification, protests continued across several parts of Budgam throughout the day, with demonstrators insisting that the Deputy CM should offer a public apology to quell the growing outrage—(KNO)
