Ruhullah Entrusts Resignation Letter to Father of 2010 Victim Tufail Mattoo
His decision to entrust the resignation letter to Tufail’s father added a powerful political and emotional dimension to the event, evoking memories of the 2010 uprising during which 117 people, including several teenagers and an 11-year-old boy, lost their lives while Omar Abdullah served as Chief Minister
BUDGAM (KASHMIR): Member of Parliament Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi on Tuesday entrusted Muhammad Ashraf Mattoo with personally delivering his resignation letter from the ruling National Conference (NC) to party president Farooq Abdullah. The gesture carried symbolic weight as Mattoo is the father of 17-year-old Tufail Mattoo, whose killing became a defining flashpoint of the 2010 Kashmir unrest.
Addressing a public rally in his hometown of Budgam, Ruhullah declared his decision to part ways with the party and used the occasion to mount a scathing attack on the NC leadership. His decision to entrust the resignation letter to Tufail’s father added a powerful political and emotional dimension to the event, evoking memories of the 2010 uprising during which 117 people, including several teenagers and an 11-year-old boy, lost their lives while Omar Abdullah served as Chief Minister.
Among those who addressed the gathering was Muhammad Ashraf Mattoo, who said his decades-long struggle for justice for his son remains unresolved.
“I have spent years knocking on every door for justice, yet my son's case continues to gather dust in the courts. Those who held power abandoned us, but today I see a glimmer of hope in Aga Ruhullah. When institutions fail and promises are broken, people begin to place their faith in those willing to stand beside them in their darkest hour,” Mattoo said.
Earlier, Ruhullah launched an unprecedented attack on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, accusing him of betraying the trust reposed in him by the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“You shattered every promise made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and turned a historic mandate into a historic betrayal. The people empowered you to restore their dignity, defend their aspirations, and speak for their rights, but instead you chose submission where leadership was expected. You ruled with the entitlement of a prince while surrendering the authority entrusted to you by the people. Let there be no mistake: the same people who elevated you to power can hold you accountable. This is not merely about the next election. It is about the political judgment of a people who refuse to forget betrayal and who will decide your legacy,” Ruhullah said.
The rally marked one of the sharpest public confrontations yet between Ruhullah and the NC leadership, signaling an intensifying political rift within Kashmir’s dominant regional party. The presence of Tufail Mattoo’s father, and his role in carrying Ruhullah’s resignation to Farooq Abdullah, underscored the symbolic and political message the former NC leader sought to convey as he formally severed ties with the party.
Some of Ruhullah’s critics quickly responded on social media, pointing out that he held the Science and Technology and Animal Husbandry portfolios in Omar Abdullah’s government when the killings occurred during the 2010 unrest.
Meanwhile, in a separate letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker, Ruhullah said his resignation from the House “is voluntary and genuine, and is tendered of my own free will”. The Srinagar MP requested that the Speaker accept his resignation, citing Article 101(3)(b) of the Constitution of India and Rule 240 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha.
