“Could Ruhullah sahib have ever won without the National Conference? I tell him, resign from Parliament, and go back to the people. We will see who will vote for him,” Farooq had said.

Responding to the remarks, Ruhullah began his letter by referring to Farooq’s statement on August 25 in which the NC president had said, “How long will you be a slave? You have to stand on your feet sometimes. When will you stand?”

Ruhullah said the words resonated with the frustration felt by many in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly over the perception that the region has to adopt a posture of supplication before the BJP even while seeking what it considers its rightful demands.

He then questioned why Farooq should object when he raised the same concerns.

“I refuse to believe that your statement is merely ‘hollow posturing’ for ‘public consumption’, while your politics reflects something entirely different. If that were the case, it would be a deep personal disappointment to me,” Ruhullah wrote.

‘We are begging for statehood’

Ruhullah also took issue with Farooq’s statement, “You want 370, but you beg from Delhi.”

He argued that the NC was not even “begging” for Article 370 but was instead seeking statehood, which he described as a right recognised by the Supreme Court and a promise made by the BJP in its 2024 Assembly election manifesto.

“In other words, the JKNC’s position is now no different from that of the BJP’s,” he wrote.

According to Ruhullah, accepting statehood as the outer limit of Jammu and Kashmir’s political aspirations risks legitimising and normalising what he described as the constitutional changes of August 2019.

He argued that this could also mean surrendering constitutional protections that he said were essential for Jammu and Kashmir because of its unique geopolitical reality, culture, traditions and fragile environment.

Ruhullah said this approach was at odds with the NC’s own 2024 election promises to restore Articles 370 and 35A.

He questioned why the party had included restoration of Article 370 in its 2024 manifesto if it already believed that the BJP, which was in power at the time, would never agree to restore it.

“Were we making promises we knew we could not keep or perhaps never truly intended to keep? Did we invoke the wound inflicted on the people of Jammu-Kashmir in August 2019 merely to derive political mileage, only to conveniently forget our promises after government formation?” he asked.

Ruhullah said he wanted no part in what he described as a political falsehood and suggested that this was why he had become the target of criticism from within the party.

‘Our job is to fight degradation’

Defending his position, Ruhullah said Article 370 represented more than a constitutional provision and was shorthand for what he described as the struggle to restore the dignity, honour, constitutional guarantees and liberties of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

He also highlighted unemployment, land and resource concerns, religious rights, traditions, language and environmental issues.

“Nearly 65% of Jammu and Kashmir’s population is young, and their future is increasingly uncertain, with no jobs and opportunities. Our land is up for grabs. Our resources benefit everybody but us,” he wrote.

He added that religious rights, traditions and language were facing pressure, while illegal deforestation, mining and construction were damaging ecologically fragile areas.

“Our job as elected representatives is to fight this constant degradation and dehumanisation – and not to adjust our aspirations to what the BJP is willing to concede,” Ruhullah said.

He argued that restoration of statehood should not be treated as an adequate substitute for what he said was taken away in August 2019.

“Our responsibility is to push the horizon of our demands; to fight for constitutional guarantees that protect our people, our rich and diverse traditions, our resources, and the land we hold most dearly,” he wrote.

‘What has changed?’

Ruhullah also invoked Farooq Abdullah’s own political record, recalling that he had been Chief Minister when the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly passed the Autonomy Resolution.

“That, too, must have required courage. Why, then, has the mere mention of constitutional guarantees for Jammu-Kashmir now become so offensive that you felt compelled to publicly demand my resignation?” he asked.

He questioned whether the aspirations of the people had changed or whether the NC’s willingness to stand up for those aspirations had changed.

“There are many more questions. But for now, I will await your response to these and so will the people of Jammu-Kashmir, who have a right to know what the JKNC truly stands for,” he wrote.

Ruhullah then made it clear that he was not ruling out resignation. “Rest assured, the resignation will come. It would have come even without you asking but before that must come accountability,” he said.

‘I am the proud son of a martyr’

Ruhullah also responded to what he described as Farooq’s “rather disrespectful attack” on his background. Farooq had questioned who Ruhullah was before joining the National Conference.

“Humbly put, I am the inheritor of a long tradition of martyrdom. I am also the proud son of a martyr,” Ruhullah wrote.

He recalled that Farooq himself had invited him to join the National Conference around 2000 following the killing of his father.

“Perhaps that is precisely why I never had to ask to be a part of the JKNC. You personally invited me into it,” he wrote.

“Not many know this, Doctor Sahab. But you do. And I hope that, before launching another public assault on my background, you will remember this,” he added.

NC rift deepens

Farooq Abdullah’s demand for Ruhullah’s resignation marked a significant escalation in the differences within the National Conference.

The NC president had also accused Ruhullah of being on the “wrong path” in his pursuit of restoring Article 370, while maintaining that the Srinagar MP was free to raise the issue in Parliament.

Farooq had otherwise remained largely silent for more than a year as differences between Ruhullah and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah became increasingly public.

The rift between Ruhullah and Omar has widened since the NC formed the government in Jammu and Kashmir in October 2024.

Ruhullah, once described as a star campaigner and “poster boy” for the party in earlier elections, has repeatedly criticised the government over what he sees as a dilution of its core 2024 manifesto promises, particularly the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A.

He has also criticised the party’s decision to settle for statehood as the outer limit of its political demands, accusing the leadership of normalising the post-August 2019 constitutional changes and prioritising a pragmatic relationship with the Centre over a firm political fight for the region’s special status, land rights, jobs for young people, and protection of cultural and environmental interests.

Ruhullah has also supported student protests over reservation rationalisation, including a protest outside Omar Abdullah’s residence. He has repeatedly questioned the party’s ideological consistency and has publicly called for constitutional guarantees for Jammu and Kashmir during public programmes.

Omar Abdullah and other NC leaders have responded by questioning Ruhullah’s approach, contrasting him with other party parliamentarians and calling for discipline within the party.

The differences now reflect a deeper divide over the political direction of the National Conference, with Ruhullah seeking to push Jammu and Kashmir’s political horizon beyond statehood, while the party leadership remains focused on governance and securing the restoration of statehood first.