Srinagar, Sept. 2 -- By Farooq Ahmad Khan

Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi has taken a decision that may prove far more consequential for his own political future than for the National Conference.

His differences with the party leadership are neither imaginary nor insignificant. Ruhullah has consistently argued that the National Conference cannot allow restoration of statehood to become a substitute for its larger political commitment to the restoration of the constitutional position represented by Articles 370 and 35-A.

That is a legitimate political position. Indeed, there is considerable force in the argument that a party which sought votes on constitutional questions must continue to articulate them after coming to power.

But disagreement ...