Omar Abdullah Will Be Seen as 'Delhi's Representative' Unless He Leads Struggle for Statehood, 370

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Kashmiris have lost trust in the idea of India and they're worried about Omar Abdullah: National Conference MP, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, to Karan Thapar for The Wire. .......................................... In an interview where he does not hesitate to speak his mind, even if it’s to be critical of his own Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, or the Modi government in Delhi, the National Conference’s Srinagar MP has said that Kashmiris have lost trust in “in the Union of India, the idea of India”. Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi also says that Kashmiris are worried about Omar Abdullah. He says Chief Minister Abdullah should not distance himself from the people of Jammu and Kashmir or from the mandate the National Conference won in October 2024. In a 30-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Mr. Mehdi says that Omar Abdullah is in danger of being seen by the Kashmiris as “Delhi’s representative”. Instead he needs to be “resilient” and “express the dissent of the people” and lead what he calls their “rebellion” in demand of their right to statehood and the return of Article 370. Asked what sort of response Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had received from the Prime Minister and the Home Minister to the enormous effort he has made to get on with the Modi government, Mr. Mehdi said it was “disrespectful”. He said the Modi government wants “to turn a deaf ear” to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He also said the delay in granting statehood, which has been assured to the Supreme Court, was “very worrying”. He said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir were “more committed than ever before” to the restoration of Article 370. Speaking about the relationship between the Chief Minister and the Lieutenant Governor, Mr. Mehdi says the Lieutenant Governor is “running a parallel government”. He says the LG is “trying to discredit the elected government”. Mr. Mehdi agreed that Omar Abdullah may be in office but he is clearly not in power. Speaking about the relationship between Dr. Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Mr. Mehdi said that Dr. Abdullah is “more Kashmiri nationalist”. He said Dr. Abdullah is more suited to lead what he called the “resilience” of the Kashmiri people. Speaking about Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and an ally of the National Conference in Kashmir, Mr. Mehdi said whilst there could be shortcomings in his performance as a politician he was full of praise for Mr. Gandhi as a human being. I will stop there. There’s a lot more in this interview that will be of enormous interest to those keen on following what is happening in Kashmir, understanding the politics of Omar Abdullah and his relationship with the Modi government and understanding the mood of the Valley. I will leave you to see the rest of the interview for yourself. Join The Wire's Youtube Membership and get exclusive content, member-only emojis, live interaction with The Wire's founders, editors and reporters and much more. Memberships to The Wire Crew start at Rs 89/month. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChWtJey46brNr7qHQpN6KLQ/join