Cryptic tweets by CM Abdullah, MP Ruhullah hint at friction within ruling party

Cryptic tweets by J&K leaders hint at brewing tension within ruling NC amid ideological differences.

Cryptic tweets on X by J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and ruling National Conference (NC) Member of Parliament (MP) Aga Syed Ruhullah, amid reports of growing ideological differences, on Sunday (May 25, 2025) gave credence to the brewing tension within the ruling party.

Quoting a couplet from a local poet, Janbaaz Kishtwari, Mr. Ruhullah wrote on X: “Either rise and become such a sukhanvar (orator/poet/speaker) who serves a purpose for the nation; Or sit in the comfort of the zanpaan (palanquin).”

The NC parliamentarian’s tweet on X followed Mr. Abdullah’s oblique reference post. “There are doers and there are talkers. That’s why I don’t talk as much as some people I know.” He did not qualify the tweet or its context further.

These tweets assumed significance as Mr. Ruhullah reportedly expressed a dissenting voice during a meeting of the ruling NC on May 21, where it passed a seven-point resolution in favour of special status and restoration of Statehood.

Sources in the NC said Mr. Ruhullah sought the party’s focus towards ideological goalposts like the restoration of Article 370 rather than issues of governance. The MP told the NC meeting to pursue the election manifesto, which promised the release of political prisoners, the restoration of greater autonomy, and the safeguarding of the constitutional identity of J&K, and warned of negative consequences if the party drifted away from its foundational narrative.

However, the NC refuted reports that Mr. Ruhullah left the May 21 meeting in a huff.

“Such reports are fabrications. We talked cordially in the meeting. Ruhullah didn’t walk out. He left with permission from Dr. Farooq Abdullah and CM Abdullah due to a family emergency. All members, including him, supported the resolution on special status,” NC leader and MLA Tanvir Sadiq.