Srinagar, Sep 29: National Conference MLA Ruhullah Mehdi on Tuesday accused his party of diluting the mandate it received in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, questioning its repeated resolutions on statehood.
Ruhullah said people had voted for the NC to fight for the restoration of constitutional and political guarantees taken away on August 5, 2019.
“We had given an assurance, an expectation and a promise to the people that we will not fight any other battle. We will only fight for the return of our constitutional rights,” he said.
Questioning the party’s changing resolutions, he said, “Sometimes one resolution, then a second resolution to dilute the same resolution, and then a third resolution to amend that resolution — this is a joke with the people of Kashmir.”
“If there was no clarity, if they did not know what the objective was, why did they go before the people in the election?” Ruhullah asked.
He said the mandate had been reduced to “a victim of convenience” and warned that the people would not forgive those responsible.
On the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, Ruhullah called alleged vote manipulation “the biggest theft”, saying the vote was the primary means through which citizens could bring political change.
“When your vote itself is stolen, how will you make any correction?” he asked.
Ruhullah also called for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, alleging a serious erosion of the Election Commission’s credibility.
“I don’t think he has any moral justification, any ethical justification, to continue in this position,” he said, calling for the Election Commission to be revamped so that elections are “fair and free.”
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