SRINAGAR: Discontent within the ruling National Conference (NC) in Jammu and Kashmir has deepened, with a group of 20 disgruntled MLAs refusing to back down from their charter of demands following the recent cabinet reshuffle.
The MLAs have asserted that the situation could have been avoided had Chief Minister Omar Abdullah acted on assurances he gave to MLAs and ministers at a meeting in Dachigam in June this year.
The group, unhappy with the exclusion of senior party leaders in Omar's first cabinet reshuffle, formed a bloc to “fight unitedly” for its cause.
The dissident legislators held a nearly four-hour-long meeting at the Srinagar residence of an NC MLA on October 30, during which they agreed on a charter of demands.
Their key demand is the replacement of all four ministers who have been part of the Omar government since its formation in October 2024, to make way for senior leaders and those overlooked in the recent reshuffle.
They are also seeking the removal of the CM's advisers, Nasir Aslam Wani and Shammi Oberoi, fulfilment of the party's poll promises, and a more assertive stand on the restoration of statehood and Article 370. All these issues featured prominently in the NC's 2024 Assembly election manifesto.
Sources said the disgruntled MLAs would submit their charter of demands to party president Farooq Abdullah and decide their next course of action based on his response.
One of the dissident MLAs told TNIE that Omar had given several assurances to MLAs and ministers during the June 3 meeting at Dachigam in Srinagar.
During the meeting, the legislators had complained about the behaviour of some ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Singh Choudhary, and demanded changes in their portfolios, he said.
“However, the CM failed to follow up on those assurances. The anger was growing due to the CM's lack of action and ‘lack of humility ’, and the recent cabinet reshuffle proved to be the trigger for the legislators to raise their voice,” he said, adding that had the CM fulfilled assurances of the June 3 meeting, things would not have reached this pass.
The MLA said there were some issues with the captain (Omar), but there were selectors who could pinpoint the shortcomings and make the necessary changes.
“This is an issue within the party, and hopefully it will be settled,” he said, adding that the legislators would take up the matter with the Abdullahs once they were free.
Senior NC leader Mubarak Gul, a six-time MLA and former Speaker, is particularly upset over his exclusion from the cabinet and has publicly expressed his displeasure.
His supporters have been holding near-daily protests since the reshuffle, demanding that the leadership reconsider its decision. Gul has announced that he will hold a press conference on November 4 to air his grievances.
Following Gul's exclusion from the cabinet, Farooq had appointed him the party's general secretary. However, after Gul publicly voiced his resentment and joined hands with other disgruntled legislators, he was removed from the post, which was handed back to Ali Mohammad Sagar, who was inducted into the cabinet in the reshuffle.
NC's Kashmir Provincial President Showkat Ahmad Mir has played down reports of dissent in the party, claiming that the “closed-door meeting” of disgruntled MLAs was an informal gathering held in a friendly atmosphere ahead of the Secretariat's shift to Jammu.
The discontent within the NC comes at a time when the party's firebrand leader and Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah has announced that he would resign from both the party and his Lok Sabha seat on Tuesday over the “party’s betrayal of 2024 election mandate”.
Sources said the NC leadership had sounded out at least three party leaders for the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, which would fall vacant and necessitate a by-election if Ruhullah resigns, in an attempt to contain the growing dissent within the party.
Meanwhile, the NC leadership, in a statement, claimed that the party stood united and was a solid wall that had weathered countless storms, faced the toughest trials and overcome numerous challenges throughout its long political history.
“No false propaganda, deceptive rhetoric or misleading conspiracy could distort the historic role, political position and public agenda of the National Conference,” the NC president said, adding that the party's politics was not confined to the pursuit of power but was rooted in the protection of the rights, identity, distinct character and constitutional safeguards of the people of J&K.
