Farooq Abdullah’s defence of Ruhullah’s house arrest exposes rift within ruling National Conference

Srinagar: National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah’s defence of the house arrest of party MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi and other leaders on Sunday has brought simmering dissent within the ruling NC into the open, underlining a growing confrontation between the Abdullahs and one of the party’s most vocal parliamentarians.

Speaking to reporters at Pahalgam, Abdullah said the leaders placed under house arrest wanted to create “turmoil” and suggested they were unhappy with Jammu and Kashmir’s “progress”.

“You should ask those leaders what they wanted to do. We are doing as much as we can. Perhaps they do not like that the state is progressing. They want turmoil, which we will not allow,” he said.

The remarks came even as Ruhullah, a sitting NC MP, has been openly challenging the party leadership over its handling of the reservation issue and its response to student protests, in what many within the party view as an open revolt against the Abdullah-led leadership.

Authorities on Sunday placed Ruhullah, PDP leaders Waheed Parra and Iltija Mufti and former Srinagar mayor Junaid Mattoo under house arrest to prevent them from joining a proposed sit-in by Open Merit students at Gupkar Road against the existing reservation policy.

Ruhullah had announced his intention to join the peaceful protest and accused the administration of a pre-emptive crackdown after armed police were deployed outside his residence. In a post on X late Saturday, he questioned whether the move was meant to silence a pro-student demonstration.

Abdullah’s public endorsement of the restrictions on his own party MP has sharpened perceptions of internal fault lines within the NC, with Ruhullah continuing to confront the leadership on issues of governance and student concerns.

Abdullah also commented on the situation in Bangladesh, expressing hope that peaceful elections would be held and that a new government would pursue friendly ties with India.