Srinagar, Nov. 4 -- Member of Parliament from Srinagar Syed Aga Ruhullah Mehdi resigned from the Lok Sabha seat and his primary membership of the National Conference (NC) on Tuesday in protest against his party's alleged capitulation over Article 370 restoration fight against central government. The day coincided with the 26th death anniversary of his father, Aga Mehdi, who was killed in a terror attack. Ruhullah announced his resignation at a rally held in Budgam that was attended by thousands of people. "You all have come here for resignation, not for any chair. You have come here when I am leaving the chair. I appreciate your presence here. I am signing the paper of my freedom today. Till November 3, 2.40 pm, I was with the National Conference, and now I have left the NC. I am free now," he said while waving the resignation letter. He handed his letter of resignation to Mohammad Ashraf Mattu, whose son Tufail Mattu was killed by police when Omar Abdullah was the J&K chief minister during his first tenure. He asked Mattu to send his resignation to NC president Farooq Abdullah. Ruhullah said that he has also sent his resignation letter from his Parliament seat to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. In his speech, Ruhullah spoke of the "betrayal the NC, especially the CM, has done to the people of J&K". Ruhullah said that the people of J&K gave power to CM Omar Abdullah to fight for their rights with New Delhi and the BJP. "You only exhibited power to the people of J&K and adopted a soft approach towards the BJP," he said. Ruhullah also blamed the NC leadership for a series of betrayal and for not fighting for the rights of the people of J&K, especially Article 370. The estranged leader, who had campaigned rigorously for the party in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, was the first to raise his voice against his own government. He blamed it for deviating from the promises made during the polls, especially regarding reservation, Article 370, and statehood. Earlier, Ruhullah had led a protest to the Gupkar residence of the J&K CM, a move that turned the top NC leadership against him, as no other party leader had ever dared to protest outside the CM's house. In response, party leaders challenged the Srinagar MP to resign from his Lok Sabha seat, claiming the seat belonged to the NC. Earlier, he (Ruhullah) had even refused to campaign for the party candidate in Budgam, a seat which he had represented thrice, and the party lost the seat to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Aga Syed Muntazir, who is also his close relative. It is not clear whether Ruhullah will form his own party or join any party opposed to the NC. He, however, dropped hints that he will try to form a movement of honest and young people of J&K. Ruhullah is a three-time legislator from Budgam and a former minister, having won his seat continuously from 2002 to 2014. Though some leaders within the NC tried to reconcile with Ruhullah, it seemed the MP had made up his mind to say goodbye to the NC. However, it is not sure whether he will contest the Lok Sabha elections from the Srinagar seat once the speaker accepts his resignation. The National Conference has strongly reacted to the allegations made by Ruhullah during his speech in Budgam and termed it as a manifestation of his "mental and moral bankruptcy, and an example of his self-obsession". The NC spokesman alleged that Ruhullah's speech was full of derogatory, abusive and unparliamentary language against the NC leadership. The spokesman said that since Ruhullah has chosen to use the issue of special status and reservation to resign from NC, it's important to keep the record straight. "He only remembered to resign when he was told to by the party president. The same way he only remembered 2010 today when it suited him. He is a man who happily remained in office as a minister in 2010 until he was removed in a general reshuffle. He was happy to fight elections in 2014 on a JKNC ticket and didn't remember 2010 then. In fact he conveniently forgot all about it until 2026, 16 years later," he said. The spokesman said he (Aga Ruhullah) was the first to welcome the resolution demanding restoration of special status, passed by the J&K Assembly on November 6. "Didn't he say that it was the promise that had been delivered?." The NC spokesman also questioned the role of Ruhullah in the Parliament. "What has Aga Ruhullah done in Parliament on special status. Wasn't he elected to the Parliament to represent the sentiment of people and garner support of secular parties and MPs in the parliament," he said. The national vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Ram Madhav, on Tuesday claimed that Aga Ruhullah was holding a rally with the blessings of "our people". He, however, added that the NC was a "divided house" but BJP had no involvement in its internal affairs. Madhav said that he would not like to comment on the internal matter of the NC, but the party was visibly divided today. "Ruhullah is holding the rally today with the blessings of our people," he added. Madhav is on a day-long visit to Jammu, where he held a closed-door meeting with senior BJP leaders at the party headquarters in Trikuta Nagar. His visit comes amid reports of growing dissent among the NC MLAs following the recent Cabinet expansion by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Madhav, however, distanced the BJP from the internal developments of the NC, maintaining that any statements made by BJP legislators were separate from the party's position. Asked about the possible future political developments and their implications, Madhav declined to speculate, saying the situation would have to unfold before any conclusions could be drawn....