Jammu, Nov 3 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Vice-President, Ram Madhav said on Tuesday that the dissident National Conference (NC) Lok Sabha member, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, was holding a public rally with the blessings of ‘our people’.
Addressing a press conference here, Ram Madhav, who has been a veteran BJP leader dealing with Jammu and Kashmir’s affairs, said, “I would not like to comment on the matter, but the National Conference is visibly divided today.”
“Ruhullah is holding the rally today with the blessings of our people.”
Ram Madhav had played a crucial role in the formation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir in 2015-2016.
He said the ruling NC is a visibly divided party, but added that the BJP had no involvement in NC’s internal affairs.
Ram Madhav distanced the BJP from the NC’s internal developments, saying statements made by BJP legislators did not represent the party’s position.
“Let me reiterate that we have no involvement in the internal affairs of the National Conference. Whatever statements our (BJP) MLAs make are a separate matter. This is entirely an internal matter of the NC and its leaders are fighting among themselves,” he said.
Several BJP MLAs and senior leaders have claimed that the NC is heading towards a split and that the Omar Abdullah-led Jammu and Kashmir government could collapse amid growing dissent within the ruling party.
“Today, one of their (NC’s) own MPs has come out and is holding a programme… That is their internal affair. What do we (BJP) have to do with it?” Ram Madhav said.
Asked about possible future political developments and their implications, the BJP National Vice-President declined to speculate, saying the situation would have to unfold before any conclusions could be drawn.
Ram Madhav is on a day-long visit to Jammu, where he held a closed door meeting with senior BJP leaders at the party headquarters in Trikuta Nagar in Jammu city.
His visit comes amid reports of growing dissent among NC MLAs following the recent Cabinet expansion by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Today, NC MP and senior Shia Muslim leader held a large public rally in Budgam town, where he announced that he has resigned from the primary membership of the NC. He also announced his decision to relinquish the Lok Sabha seat.
Ruhullah represents the Srinagar-Budgam Lok Sabha seat in the Parliament. He won the 2024 elections from this constituency as a candidate of the NC.
He has submitted his resignation to the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday.
The letter addressed to the Lok Sabha speaker said, “the resignation is voluntary and genuine and is tendered of my own free will.”
He added that the resignation be accepted.
With Ruhullah’s resignation, the NC now has only one seat in the Lok Sabha. Of the five Jammu and Kashmir seats, two are held by the BJP, one by the incarcerated leader Engineer Rashid and one by senior NC leader Mian Altaf Ahmad.
–IANS
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