SRINAGAR: PDP MLA Waheed Para argued that controversy over recent RTI revelations that PDP did not appoint authorised agent for Rajya Sabha polls is being used to divert attention from the NC's ban on Shopian Dar Uloom matter and removal of Urdu from official records.
"The National Conference’s outcry over the Rajya Sabha vote is misplaced. This is not fundamentally about the Rajya Sabha - it serves as a diversion from substantive concerns, notably the Siraj-ul-Aloom controversy and the erasure of Urdu from official records," Para said in a post on X.
On October 24, 2025 RS polls for four vacant seats in J&K was conducted and NC, despite enjoying the backing of 59 members, won only three seats and unexpectedly lost the 4th seat to BJP.
NC candidate Imran Nabi Dar, who contested the fourth seat, was defeated by BJP’s J&K president Sat Sharma.
Sharma secured 32 votes, four more than BJP’s tally of 28 votes, while three votes were declared invalid. Imran polled only 21 votes.
An RTI reply to a query has revealed that PDP, which had three MLAs at time of Rajya Sabha polls, did not appoint authorised agents for RS elections.
According to the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of J&K Assembly Secretariat, seven authorised agents were appointed by three political parties–four by National Conference, two by BJP and one by Congress–to verify votes cast by their respective party members in J&K Assembly.
Since the RTI revelations, the NC has been accusing Mehbooba of voting in favour of BJP in the Rajya Sabha polls.
PDP MLA rejected these allegations arguing that the PDP had no obligation to support the NC, citing past political developments including disintegration of PAGD and the PDP’s exclusion from the INDIA alliance arrangement during J&K Assembly elections in 2025.
“Against this backdrop, the PDP did not owe cooperation to the NC,” Para said, while maintaining that his party still extended unconditional support in good faith. “Blaming PDP for Rajya Sabha outcome is both inaccurate and counterproductive. The failure, Omar must realise, lies close to Nawai Subh”.
Defending party president Mehbooba Mufti, the PDP MLA said she neither abstained from voting nor imposed any conditions on support. “Instead, her only advice was to secure the third Rajya Sabha seat and avoid politicising the uncertain fourth seat.”
On NC’s allegations on PDP not appointing polling agents, Para argued that if NC did not trust PDP legislators themselves, it was contradictory to claim that a PDP-appointed agent would have made any difference.
He also cited a remark by NC MP Aga Ruhullah about unclear communication within the party during the Vice Presidential election, raising questions about internal coordination.
Para also took a swipe at NC leaders, including its spokesman Imran Nabi Dar claiming that he had previously sought entry into the PDP after being denied a mandate.
He warned that continued attacks on the PDP could weaken broader opposition unity and inadvertently benefit the BJP.
“If NC were to implode tomorrow and Omar Abdullah finds himself needing support of PDP’s four MLAs to stay afloat, he will face an awkward moment - having to turn to the very legislators and Mehbooba Mufti whom he hasn’t stopped bad mouthing ever since he assumed Office,” the PDP MLA said.
NC spokesperson, Shriya Handoo, criticised the PDP for failing to appoint an authorised agent for its votes, calling it a “basic responsibility” in an open ballot system.
“In an open ballot system, authorised agents are not a formality. They are a basic responsibility. If PDP chose not to appoint one, that was its own political decision and negligence, not the NC’s failure,” she said.
According to Handoo, NC fought to maximise representation for J&K in Parliament, while PDP is busy creating conspiracy theories to cover up its own contradictions. “You cannot claim transparency on one hand and refuse to participate in the official verification process on the other.”
“Selective outrage does not change facts. PDP chose to ally with the BJP and defended that decision when it mattered most for the people of J&K. The erosion of J&K’s dignity and constitutional position, the dual control and the political uncertainty people face today did not emerge in isolation. The roots of this situation lie in PDP’s so called ‘visionary decision’,” she said.
She said dragging unrelated issues like Siraj ul Aloom or Urdu into the Rajya Sabha discussion only exposes the lack of a real defence on the actual question: why did PDP fail to formally secure and monitor its own votes?
“The truth is simple. The Rajya Sabha process was transparent, regulated and conducted under established rules. If PDP failed to discharge its own responsibilities, blaming NC afterwards is political deflection and nothing more,”added Handoo.
NC spokesman Imran Nabi Dar claimed that Para has the audacity to say "just one RS seat"! “This one RS seat was the test to check where your loyalty lies. As is obvious now, it is with the BJP4”
“Your diversionary tactics would not work. People of J&K demand an answer for why you did, what you did in RS polls,” he said.
Rejecting PDP MLA’s claim that he had sought to join the party, Imran said, “The dog in my lane, if he decides to join @jkpdp today, would be garlanded by the who's who of PDP. But even the dog would not and we know why. PDP's juvenile MLA and his coterie hallucinates and tries to create a fake narrative when asked to explain their criminal sell out in the RS elections (sic)”.
