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Srinagar: National Conference (NC) leader and Member of Indian Parliament Agha Ruhullah Mehdi has emphasized that restoring Article 370 and statehood remains central to the aspirations of the people of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.<\/p>\n
According to Kashmir Media Service, in a media interview in Srinagar, Mehdi called on NC vice-president Omar Abdullah to spearhead the struggle for these core demands, asserting, \u201cOmar Abdullah must lead the struggle for the restoration of Article 370 andstatehood, or risk being perceived as a proxy for Delhi.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mehdi highlighted that the NC\u2019s recent electoral success was a clear rejection of the policies implemented post-August 5, 2019, when IIOJK\u2019s special status was abrogated by the Modi-led Indian government.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mandate given to the NC is more than just political\u2014it\u2019s a resounding disapproval of the unconstitutional actions taken in 2019,\u201d Mehdi stated. He added that the people\u2019s expectations must be met through bold and unwavering leadership, cautioning that neglecting their aspirations would deepen the sense of alienation and mistrust in the territory.<\/p>\n
Mehdi also criticized the BJP\u2019s governance model in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which he said disempowers elected representatives while placing undue authority in the hands of the Lieutenant Governor. \u201cEven if Omar Abdullah becomes the Chief Minister, the BJP has ensured that the LG\u2019s role undermines the authority of an elected government. This creates a parallel governance structure that erodes democratic accountability,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He expressed concern that delays in restoring statehood further illustrate New Delhi\u2019s disregard for occupied Jammu and Kashmir\u2019s democratic voice. \u201cThe prolonged delay is not just worrying\u2014it\u2019s a betrayal of the Indian Supreme Court and the people of Kashmir. It reflects the BJP\u2019s lack of intent to genuinely address the territory\u2019s grievances,\u201d Mehdi remarked.<\/p>\n
Urging Omar Abdullah to remain steadfast, Mehdi stated, \u201cThe NC must fight relentlessly for the restoration of Article 370 and statehood. Failing to do so risks the party being seen as complicit in Delhi\u2019s agenda, rather than standing with the people of Jammu and Kashmir.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mehdi concluded by warning that ignoring the territory\u2019s mandate and aspirations could have dire consequences for the idea of India in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, further alienating its people and exacerbating mistrust.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Srinagar: National Conference (NC) leader and Member of Indian Parliament Agha Ruhullah Mehdi has emphasized that restoring Article 370 and statehood remains central to the aspirations of the people of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. According to Kashmir Media Service, in a media interview in Srinagar, Mehdi called on NC vice-president Omar Abdullah to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":165122,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5],"class_list":["post-165121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-top-story"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2025\/01\/images-3-2.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165121\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}