NC squirms as party MP Aga Ruhullah draws on Quran to Malcolm X, puts Omar govt in dock | Political Pulse News

Omar chose not to react, calling protests “a democratic right”. However, while its leadership may weigh its words when it comes to Ruhullah, who is a Shia cleric with a following of his own, NC partymen have started to question the MP.

Its youth president and Hazratbal MLA Salman Sagar accused Ruhullah of “sitting with the enemy” and “staging a drama”, by joining the anti-quota protest. With seemingly the NC’s blessing, Sagar said the protest was not organised by the party but its rivals. “Unfortunately, our MP was there… in his individual capacity.”

Facing such criticism from the NC quarters for the first time since his open questioning of the Omar government, Ruhullah refused comment except wanting “to clear a confusion”. “I didn’t organise the protest, I just joined the students who wanted to take their voice to the CM… Their cause was genuine and their plea needed to be heard,” the MP told The Indian Express.

Sources close to Ruhullah add that he is only doing what he had promised to voters, and that during the Assembly poll campaign, he had not just read out from the NC manifesto but also asserted: “If, in power, the NC and its MLAs don’t stand by their election promises, I will stand with the people against the party.”

An added plus is that the more the MP is seen as taking on his government, the more his popularity is growing. Especially given the public sentiment that Omar – and other NC leaders – should be speaking out against the Centre over unfulfilled promises to J&K. At one point of time, Ruhullah’s break-up with the party was seen as imminent.

While calling Ruhullah’s protest a “democratic right”, Omar indicated his hurt by sharing on X the famous poem ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling, which talks about how moderation and restraint are the hallmarks of a “man”. The NC MP reacted to that with a long deposition by African-American activist Malcolm X on the difference between a “house Negro” and a “field Negro”. A “house Negro always looked out for his master”, Ruhullah said, adding, “today you still have house Negroes and field Negroes. I’m a field Negro.”

Ruhullah’s cultivation of this image of in-house critic aligns with the regard for him in the Valley for being “consistent” in his criticism of the Centre since the abrogation of J&K’s special status in 2019. His rising stature was one reason the NC brought him on as a star campaigner in Assembly elections, with Ruhullah campaigning for almost every candidate.

Now, many NC leaders feel the MP is building his own profile at the cost of the party. “Aga sahib is right in his own way. We made promises to people and they need to be fulfilled,” a party leader said. “But, as a party man, you have to find ways to address the issue. You can’t stand in opposition to your own party, especially as it is likely to help rivals.”

But the leader also admitted: “Having said that, I believe he is currently one of the tallest leaders of the party in the eyes of the public and the party needs to listen to him… There may be some ambitious leaders who are threatened by his growing stature… (However) There shouldn’t be any public spats.”

Again, while Ruhullah refuses to comment, people close to him say “he doesn’t want any confrontation but his first commitment is to the people”. “He says that people of the Valley have seen a lot of betrayals and he can’t do politics but the politics of truth,” a leader close to him said, calling his politics “the politics the Quran has envisaged”.

The NC’s rivals, not surprisingly, are backing Ruhullah. “He is under obligation to the people and he is only trying to fulfill the commitments he has made,” Waheed Para said.

On why had joined Ruhullah in the protest over reservations, the PDP leader said: “I did so because I think there was no politics in it. It was a youth-centric, non-political event. It was about merit and about our future.”