Senior National Conference MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi has asserted that the restoration of Article 370 is not the final goal but the initial step towards the party’s broader aim of achieving full autonomy for Kashmir. In a recent press conference, Mehdi criticized the PDP for lacking a clear roadmap for resolving the Kashmir issue, while emphasizing that the National Conference has a detailed plan for restoring autonomy. Watch to understand the implications of Mehdi’s statements and what it means for the future of Kashmir’s political landscape.
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#Article370 #KashmirAutonomy #NationalConference #AgaRuhullahMehdi #KashmirPolitics #PDP #IndianPolitics #Restoration #KashmirNews #PoliticalDebate
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NewsTranscript
00:00I'm struggling for that, I'm fighting for that, and this has taken my responsibility
00:05to the national level, and at the national level I understand the plight of the Muslims,
00:10I understand the plight of the Dalits in other oppressed sections of the society.
00:15To be honest, it was not my choice, as you said my father was assassinated, circumstances
00:20forced me into politics, it was largely the decision of the people who were associated
00:26with my father.
00:27It has changed drastically because of the challenge that we have, the challenge which
00:34emerged after the abrogation of 370, the restoration of our dignity, the challenge is the restoration
00:42of our dignity and rights.
00:44He was a 20-year-old man when his father was assassinated in the year 2001, 24 years down
00:51the line, Agha Ruhullah has emerged as the face of the national conference.
00:56Agha sahib, did you join politics by choice or was it by compulsion?
01:03To be honest, it was not my choice, as you said my father was assassinated, circumstances
01:08forced me into politics, it was largely the decision of the people who were associated
01:14with my father that I should participate in politics.
01:20So if you ask me, the honest answer is that it was not my choice, but it was the result
01:27of the circumstances which emerged when my father was assassinated.
01:33How has your political journey been so far?
01:36It's been a learning process, it's been a factor which helped me in my evolution, I
01:44evolved a lot, it's been a tough, it's been a challenging journey, but nevertheless I
01:51am thankful to my people, those who have supported me all along and I have achieved many milestones.
01:58I want this evolution to result into a contribution towards the progress of my society, I want
02:10to give back to my society what I have learned from this experience, represent them in a
02:14better way, represent them in a comprehensive way with more understanding.
02:19I understand things better than what I understood 10 years ago, I hope I have a better understanding
02:27of things with more time to come, so I want to represent them in a much better way, represent
02:34their sentiments, their aspirations, understand how the society wants us to function, the
02:40political executive, and then translate that into the actual functioning of the political
02:46executive, so this is how I want to contribute in return.
02:50How much has your role changed from an MLA to an MP?
02:57It has changed drastically because of the challenge that we have, the challenge which
03:05emerged after the abrogation of 370, the restoration of our dignity, the challenge
03:12is the restoration of our dignity and rights, so I am struggling for that, I am fighting
03:18for that, and this has taken my responsibility to the national level, and at the national
03:24level I understand the plight of the Muslims, I understand the plight of the Dalits, the
03:29other oppressed sections of the society, so that gives me a sense of responsibility to
03:34address those issues and struggle for those issues, so the level has gone up, with that
03:41the responsibility has increased.
03:44What's the biggest challenge Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing now?
03:48The existential question after the abrogation of 370, after the decisions of August 5, when
03:58we were turned into second class citizens, and every purpose and reason for which we
04:03acceded to the Union of India was taken away from us, so we have a question how to deal
04:07with it, what is the way forward, what to do with it, where do we exist, what should
04:13be our existence, so this is the biggest challenge, and in my view the return of those rights,
04:20that dignity and that identity is the only solution for us.
04:23Agar sir, when you say rights and dignity of the people, if you remember the NC Fort
04:29last elections, on the plank of autonomy was the major, one of the major thing, now
04:36even article 370 is born, why should people vote for NC, why do you think people should
04:42vote for NC?
04:43Should people not vote for NC because BJP was in a brute majority and they took away
04:48from us the rights and the dignity, and they did that undemocratically and unconstitutionally,
04:56then people should in return, in my opinion, strengthen their own representation which
05:02will fight back against these forces, or should, as your question suggests, or should people
05:08give in to those forces and then surrender, if there is a third way, let me know and make
05:15me understand that there is a third way, so it's a question between surrendering to those
05:20forces or getting your act together and strengthening your representation and fighting back for
05:27your struggle, struggling back and fighting back for the return of your rights.
05:31Agar sir, Badgam's political landscape has rapidly shifted, many of the family members
05:38and relatives from the Agar family are contesting polls, who do you think is fit to replace
05:44them, as an MLA you were earlier, who is the right, perfect person for the job?
05:49I think you will have the answer in a couple of days, I would have been glad if Umar sahib
05:57came and contested from this Badgam assembly segment, I would have been glad, but let's
06:06see what happens, you will get the answer in a couple of days.
06:09My last question is, why did not National Conference go solo in these polls?
06:16Because we wanted secular allies and forces to come along, because it's not the fight
06:24which we have to fight in J&K only, it's a fight which we have to fight in entire nation,
06:32so for that we need to ally with the forces who are useful not only in J&K but in entire India.
06:41Thank you so much.
06:42That was firebrand NC leader Agar Saeed Roohana, sharing his experience of the political struggle
06:50and what his party aspires to do, with camera person Irfan Khan, Izhar Ali, in Srinagar
06:56for One India.