Srinagar, Sep 16: Estranged National Conference (NC) Lok Sabha MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi has said he does not want to raise the reservation issue in Jammu and Kashmir with the lieutenant governor, asserting that the office is an “undemocratically imposed institution” akin to a colonial viceroy.
Participating in the ‘Spaces’, live audio conversations on X, Mehdi, who has set a November 3 deadline to leave the NC, described his departure from the party as a “foregone conclusion”.
During the nearly two-hour-long conversation, the Srinagar MP was asked wide-ranging questions including the existing reservation policy, for which he had led a student demonstration outside Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s residence in December 2024.
Responding to queries on whether he would stage a protest outside Lok Bhavan similar to the one held at the CM’s residence given the government’s stance that the reservation sub-committee report is now with the LG, Mehdi offered to march alongside Omar Abdullah.
“I would be happy to join the chief minister if he takes the lead,” he said.
The existing reservation policy reserves 67 per cent of jobs and admissions to professional courses in the Union Territory. Mehdi had led a protest outside the CM’s residence to support the demand for rationalisation of reservation in J&K.
When asked why he refrained from directing equal criticism at the LG office, Mehdi said that engaging with the Lok Bhavan would amount to legitimising an “undemocratic” setup.
“I do not recognise the institution of the lieutenant governor. For me, he is a viceroy. It is an undemocratically imposed institution upon us, and I do not recognise it as such,” he said.
The Srinagar MP said the Parliament was the appropriate platform to raise reservation issue in Jammu and Kashmir and that he had asked two questions related to it.
“I am a member of Parliament and I thought this is the right forum to raise the question, since the Jammu and Kashmir government has made it clear that they have forwarded the file to the Union government,” he said.
After Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded to a UT, important cabinet decisions are sent to the Centre through LG’s office.
The Jammu and Kashmir government had constituted a cabinet sub-committee on December 10, 2024, to review the reservation policy after widespread grievances were raised by job aspirants and students over the quota being pushed to 67 per cent in the UT.
In April 2024, the LG-led UT administration amended Rule 4 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004, expanding the total reserved quota from 43 per cent to 67 per cent, with an additional 3 per cent horizontal reservation for ex-servicemen.
The decision leaves general category candidates with a 33 per cent share in jobs and admissions. This had raised an uproar among the political parties in the UT as also among the general category students.
About his future plans after November 3, Mehdi said he plans to go back to the public, review his achievements, and build a new team across the Kashmir Valley before taking a call on his future political path.
“I am leaving National Conference on November 3 and that is a foregone conclusion. What I will do after that and whether I will join a party or not is not known,” he said.
Outlining his post-resignation strategy, Mehdi said his focus would be on public outreach and assembling a team of like-minded people. “The idea after that is that I will go back to people and inform them about my achievements and also list out my objectives for setting things correct,” he said.
“I would virtually go for head hunting and pull out people with good character and having conviction in my ideas from every corner of Kashmir and prepare a roadmap with them. After that we all will decide whether to join any other party or set up something else,” he added.
The date chosen for his exit holds emotional significance, as November 3 marks the death anniversary of his father, prominent Shia leader Aga Syed Mehdi, who was assassinated in an IED blast by terrorists in 2000.
The Srinagar MP also accused US Ambassador Sergio Gor of issuing a political statement that appeared to validate the BJP-led government’s handling of the region, calling it an unwarranted intrusion into an internal issue.
The Shia leader asserted that Abdullah missed a crucial opportunity to firmly articulate the elected government’s stance when the ambassador allegedly crossed diplomacy limits.
Expanding his criticism to foreign affairs, Mehdi expressed dissatisfaction with Washington’s policy in the Middle East, maintaining that the chief minister should have used the diplomatic meeting to convey local concerns regarding US involvement in that conflict as well.
