Don’t misinterpret resolution on special status, NC’s Mehdi warns Congress leaders

National Conference’s Member of Parliament Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi on Friday issued a warning against any attempts to misinterpret the special status resolution passed by the J&K Assembly recently.

The NC leader was reacting to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and J&K Congress chief Tariq Hamid Karra’s statements on the return of Article 370.

Seeks return of all guarantees

No INC president or JKPCC president has the right to misinterpret the resolution passed by the J&K Legislative Assembly during the last session... This resolution calls for the return of all guarantees in their original shape and form. Ruhullah Mehdi, National Conference MP

In a post on X, Mehdi stated, “No INC president or JKPCC president has a right to misinterpret the resolution passed by the J&K Legislative Assembly in the last session. The purpose of that resolution is to express the people’s disapproval of all the amendments and unconstitutional abrogation of the guaranteed (Special) Status of J&K from the year 1953 to 2019.”

The MP from Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency further said, “This resolution calls for the return of all the guarantees in their original shape and form as was operational before 1953 including Article 370 and 35A. Let alone JKPCC or any other entity, even if anyone from within JKNC tries to misinterpret the resolution otherwise and against the wishes of the people, will be rejected and pushed by the people to a corner of irrelevance as the allies of BJP were in the last election.” Karra, who represents the Central Shalteng Assembly segment, had recently said that the resolution of August 6, 2019, of Congress Working Committee is self-explanatory. “I do not know why people want to forget it as there is clarity in that. BJP must also have seen that resolution. However, they are trying to run a misinformation campaign,” he said.

Interestingly, the issue became intense after senior BJP leaders started accusing Congress during the Assembly elections campaign in Maharashtra that the party wants to bring back Article 370 in J&K. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday reportedly said that BJP was spreading misinformation about Congress on the issue of Article 370.

Meanwhile, reacting to Mehdi’s statement, PDP MLA Waheed Para stated, “This argument falls flat, considering the National Conference had a pre-poll alliance with Congress. So, it matters what the Congress says. But it appears that the NC didn’t bother to clarify Congress’s stance on issues like 5th August 2019, Article 370, or Article 35A during their seat-sharing (read power-sharing) negotiations. Regardless, let’s indulge this flimsy claim for a moment and (for now) put Congress’stance on the back burner-because we’ve got bigger fish to fry.”

The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on November 6 passed a resolution urging the Centre to initiate a dialogue with elected representatives of the Union Territory for the restoration of special status.