NC leaders call MP Srinagar’s protest as individual act, unnecessary drama; Congress labels camera show

Ruhullah hits back with The House Negro and the Field Negro metaphor

SRINAGAR: National Conference and Congress on Tuesday came heavy on Member of Parliament Srinagar Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi for staging protest outside the residence of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over reservation issue.
Taking to reporters at the Party Headquarters in Srinagar, MLA Hazratbal Salman Sagar said yesterday's protest was purely the individual prerogative of MP Srinagar; such things were organized by the National Conference.
He said that if a protest is held, it can be done if commands come from the National Conference President or Vice President or if the same is conveyed to the General Secretary.
Adding that MLA said this gathering appeared to be a meeting of National Conference rivals, our adversaries. Unfortunately, one of our MPs was present in that gathering, someone who just needs opportunities to organize such meetings. They provided our rivals—like PDP and others, who are our staunchest opponents—with the chance to set up such gatherings.
This gathering gave them an opportunity to exploit the situation and turn it into a spectacle. Unfortunately, our colleague gave them this opportunity, which should not have happened. There were better ways to handle this if the intention was truly to highlight the students' issues, he said.
What happened yesterday was unnecessary drama. Nobody benefited from it; instead, it created ridicule. People were laughing, scoring political points, and even individuals without a public mandate were representing people. Those who have no electoral backing were given a platform, MLA Hazratbal said.
I am in favor of the students, and I openly say this. I support the students in the open merit category and want the injustices they face to end. But this should not have become a political spectacle, he said.
We will not let our worst opponents, PDP or others, exploit such opportunities. What happened was wrong and should not have occurred. Democracy doesn’t mean wearing its guise to achieve such actions. True democracy is when you discuss issues within your party. If your concerns are ignored, you can escalate; otherwise, you are being heard, respected, and given platforms, he said.
This protest wasn’t the right way. It was staged in the guise of democracy, but it wasn’t democratic. Even senior leaders feel this wasn’t handled properly, he said.
We should have discussed with the relevant stakeholders, particularly the students. Instead, it turned into a political play. It’s unfortunate that our MP chose to take this route, and it caused damage to the students rather than benefiting them, he said.
Moving forward, we remain in contact with the students and will continue working on their issues. But the approach must be correct. Such mishandling harms our party and the cause. As for PDP, I challenge them to take similar actions outside Mehbooba Ji’s residence and see how many of their members join them, he said.
Meanwhile speaking to media at party headquarter in Srinagar MLA Dooru Ghulam Ahmad Mir said that MP from Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency, Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, could have met the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah directly instead of resorting to "camera show".
Addressing a news conference at party headquarters here in Srinagar, Mir said that the MP Ruhullah was just a five minutes away from CM Omar Abdullah and instead of opting for "camera show", the demands could have been raised with the Chief Minister directly.
"It has become a fashion now to get the camera attraction, otherwise the responsible MP from NC, could have behaved seriously," he said while responding to a query on Ruhullah's protest on Reservation policy outside CM's residence, he said.
I do not want to go into such things right now. My point here is that we had said we wouldn’t politicize but discuss with students. If you feel it’s political, then look, on one side there is the Supreme Court's ruling, which the entire country is currently following. On the other side, our party has its resolution and commitment, he said.
To address such issues, everyone has their own operational figures and percentages, which often create confusion. The best solution is the one proposed by our party and my leader Rahul Gandhi, who has said there should be a fresh census in the country. That census will solve all these problems, he said.
Therefore, I appeal that in our state, in our government, the demand is still pending. We don’t even know the percentages of various groups yet—this is all hypothetical. I have seen many cases where people carry ST certificates in their pockets, also carry Pahari certificates, OBC certificates, and General category certificates—one person having them all, MLA Dooru said.
MP Srinagar hit back at the critics of The House Negro and the Field Negro.
“Back during slavery, when Black people like me talked to the slaves, they didn't kill 'em, they sent some old house Negro along behind him to undo what he said. You have to read the history of slavery to understand this. There were two kinds of Negroes. There was that old house Negro and the field Negro”, he wrote on X.