Ruhullah faced criticism from his Congress party colleagues for protesting outside the Chief Minister’s residence

National Conference MP Agha Syed Ruhullah Mehdi leads a demonstration in support of demands for rationalization of reservation policy in Jammu and Kashmir, near Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s residence in Srinagar, Monday, December 23, 2024 | Photo credit: PTI

National Conference (NC) MP Agha Syed Ruhullah on Tuesday (Dec 24, 2024) was criticized by his party colleague Salman Sagar for joining opposition parties in protest over the current reservation policy in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on the other hand, has warned against tampering with its policy of reserving 70% seats for various marginalized communities and reserving only 30% seats for open merit category candidates.

A day after sitting with protesting students outside the Chief Minister’s residence in Srinagar, Mr. Sagar said it was a “personal act rather than party policy”. “This (demonstration) was not an initiative of the Congress and does not represent the party’s stand. Congress protests Dr. Organized only under the guidance of top leaders like Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah,” said the MLA from Hazratbal Assembly Constituency.

Mr Sagar accused Mr Ruhullah of joining the party’s opponents and thereby “unwittingly strengthening the position of rival political groups like the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)”. “It was a gathering of our enemies and unfortunately, one of our MPs gave them a platform to take advantage of the situation,” Mr. Sagar said.

He said that the protest outside the Chief Minister’s residence ‘has only created unnecessary drama’. “We do not allow political point-scoring on this issue. Such actions can damage the credibility of the party. Ruhullah Sahib He is a big man with an important mandate who has been MLA and MP many times but he cannot be bigger than the party because he is associated with the party. No legislator, minister or chief minister is bigger than the party,’ said Sagar.

In response to a curtain, Mr Ruhullah took to social media platform X. He referred to the late African American human rights activist Malcolm X’s ‘House Negro and Field Negro’ speech to make a statement on the issue. “And today, you still have house negroes and field negroes. I am a field negro,” Mr Ruhullah said in a post on X.

Meanwhile, the Congress ally Congress Party also criticized Mr Ruhullah for joining the protesters. ‘Now it has become a fashion to attract the attention of the camera. Otherwise, a responsible MP could have behaved seriously,” said senior Congress leader GA Mir.

PDP President Mehbooba Mufti slammed Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for failing to address the issue of reservation. “Open Merit students are losing opportunities as reservation policies ignore hard work and ability. CM Abdullah must take decisive action and ensure fair treatment for all. Relying on court judgment alone is not enough. Government must rationalize quotas and give hope to deserving students who feel abandoned and neglected.” should be restored,” said Ms. Mufti.

She said the six-month time commitment was “too much”. “The recruitment of lecturers, sub-inspectors etc. has been fixed. I earnestly request Mr. Abdullah, who has the support of 50 MLAs and three MPs, to help students like the PDP government brought SRO (Special Order) 49 in 2018 to bring 75% seats for open merit aspirants. Mufti added.

In Jammu, BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh warned against tampering with the existing reservation policy. The country is run according to the constitution and no one will be allowed to disturb the rights of Dalits, Gurjars, Paharis and other disadvantaged sections of the society. Members of the Valmiki community could not get government jobs under the Congress government and the BJP gave these people the constitutional right to reservation. “Congress is doing revenge politics,” said Chugh.