{"id":2084,"date":"2025-10-25T20:16:57","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T20:16:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/?p=2084"},"modified":"2025-10-25T20:16:57","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T20:16:57","slug":"mp-ruhullah-slams-cm-for-not-revealing-mlas-involved-in-rs-cross-voting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/2025\/10\/25\/mp-ruhullah-slams-cm-for-not-revealing-mlas-involved-in-rs-cross-voting\/","title":{"rendered":"MP Ruhullah slams CM for not revealing MLAs involved in RS cross-voting"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><strong>Says hiding their identity amounts to betrayal<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Refuses to campaign in Budgam by-polls<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Srinagar, Oct 25: Member Parliament from Srinagar and senior National Conference leader Aga Ruhullah Mehdi said on Saturday that he will not campaign for his party in the upcoming Budgam by-polls, accusing the NC of failing both politically and administratively in Jammu and Kashmir.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to reporters, Mehdi, according to the news agency\u2014Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said that the recent controversy over alleged cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha elections has raised serious questions about transparency. He urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to reveal the names of those involved.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have absolutely no knowledge of who voted for whom or who engaged in cross-voting,\u201d Mehdi said. \u201cFrom the Chief Minister\u2019s statement, it became clear that he seems to know who did the cross-voting but does not want to reveal the names. This proves that he knows it happened. This is not a zaati dukaan (private shop) where names can be hidden. This is public property. Credibility is built on people\u2019s trust and their votes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added that if someone knows about cross-voting and chooses not to disclose it, it is \u201cunacceptable.\u201d \u201cIf there has been wrongdoing with people\u2019s trust, it must be revealed so that citizens know who is innocent and who betrayed them. This is public information and people have the right to know,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Mehdi questioned when political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir would take what he called the \u201cstruggle for survival\u201d seriously. \u201cFighting at the party level is fine, but for our collective survival, all like-minded people must come together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>He argued that the people of Jammu and Kashmir had given a \u201cstrong and clear mandate\u201d to the National Conference in hopes that the party would represent them independently and end confusion and division. \u201cUnfortunately, it has been a year since that mandate was given, and the party has failed to act according to that sentiment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the party was not ready to fight this existential battle, then why did it make promises during the election campaign?\u201d Mehdi asked. \u201cEven with such a strong mandate, the party appears weak. The people of Jammu and Kashmir did not make you dependent on others. After the Assembly elections, there was no need to form new alliances. Yet, the same mistakes made before the elections are being repeated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He warned that people would start looking for alternatives. \u201cThis qaum is not dependent on the National Conference, Congress, or BJP. For their wujood ki ladai (fight for existence), they will always find new options,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Mehdi added that if the National Conference had respected the people\u2019s mandate, no one would be asking why it was seeking support from others. \u201cPeople trusted them, but that trust has not been honored,\u201d he said. \u201cNo real fight has started.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Asked about internal decisions attributed to him on social media, Mehdi said he often hears about decisions supposedly made in his name that he never took. \u201cSometimes I feel there must be another Ruhullah out there making decisions for me,\u201d he said. \u201cI have neither made such statements nor taken such decisions. My position remains what it was before the elections.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said he had asked his party for clarity on what message to take to voters. \u201cTell me what we have achieved politically in the past year based on the promises we made,\u201d he said. \u201cThe party has no clear answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mehdi said he had earlier asked the party to resolve the reservation issue before filing nominations. \u201cThis issue affects our children and their future,\u201d he said. \u201cWe should not be fighting our own children, the same children whose parents voted for us in difficult times.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He criticized the government for threatening students who raised their voices. \u201cWe say we will not bow to pressure, but we were elected precisely to be under people\u2019s pressure, to listen to them,\u201d he said. \u201cIn a democracy, a leader who listens to people\u2019s pressure grows stronger, while the one who shows arrogance perishes. That is dictatorship.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf a ruler refuses to come under public pressure, then what is the difference between him and an LG? A true democratic leader is one who listens to people\u2019s genuine demands,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Mehdi said he had urged the government to show at least one \u201cconfidence-building measure,\u201d such as resolving the reservation issue within three days, before the by-polls. \u201cBut that did not happen,\u201d he said. \u201cInstead, students received threats. If this is the response, what message should I take to the people?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He also referred to the government\u2019s changing stance on electricity meters. \u201cA year ago, we said meters were zulm (oppression). Now, after becoming Chief Minister, we are telling people to use them,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is no consistency in politics or governance. How can I go before the people and justify this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said he would therefore stay away from the Budgam by-polls. \u201cPeople are the real judges of their votes,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>When asked whether he planned to float his own party amid widening differences with the National Conference, Mehdi dismissed speculation. \u201cRecently, I posted a simple tweet asking who in your community inspires you, gives you confidence, and motivates you,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope the people of Jammu and Kashmir will recognize and celebrate such honest and sincere individuals who still hold the public\u2019s trust.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe must bring these forgotten but trustworthy people into public view,\u201d he said. \u201cWe must celebrate those who are imaan-daar, Khuda-dost, and have integrity. That is the least we can do.\u201d (KNO)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Says hiding their identity amounts to betrayal Refuses to campaign in Budgam by-polls Srinagar, Oct 25: Member Parliament from Srinagar and senior National Conference leader Aga Ruhullah Mehdi said on Saturday that he will not campaign for his party in the upcoming Budgam by-polls, accusing the NC of failing both politically and administratively in Jammu [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2085,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-news","category-kt-front"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2084"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2086,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2084\/revisions\/2086"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}