Srinagar, Dec 25 (IANS) Senior Jammu and Kashmir Congress leader and MLA, G. A. Mir said on Tuesday that the National Conference (NC) Lok Sabha member, Syed Ruhullah Mehdi could have behaved more seriously than opting for what Mir called a ‘Camera show’.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, Mir said that the NC Lok Sabha member, who held an anti-reservation protest march outside Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah’s residence on Monday could have behaved more seriously.
“He could have met the Chief Minister, who was just five minutes walk away from him. It has become a fashion for politicians to opt for ‘camera shows’ instead of showing more serious behaviour. He could have met the Chief Minister and raised his demands directly,” the Congress leader said while answering a question about the protest led by NC Lok Sabha member Mehdi on Monday outside the Gupkar Road residence of Omar Abdullah.
Syed Ruhullah Mehdi created a flutter in the ruling NC by leading a protest sit-in against the reservation policy of J&K under which just 40 per cent of vacancies are available to open merit candidates to compete while applying for government jobs.
The protests were also joined by Opposition PDP leaders, Waheed Para and Iltija Mufti, the daughter of PDP President, Mehbooba Mufti.
Chief spokesperson of Engineer Rashid-led Awami Ittihad Party (AIP) also joined Monday’s protest led by the NC MP.
Senior socio-religious separatist leader, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq supported the protest and said he would have joined it had the authorities allowed him to do so.
In a related development, NC MLA, Salman Sagar on Tuesday criticised Ruhullah Mehdi for carrying out a protest outside his own party leader and Chief Minister.
Salman Sagar said only those protests are allowed for the party leaders, which are permitted by Farooq Abdullah, NC President, or Omar Abdullah, the party’s Vice-President.
Salman regretted Ruhullah Mehdi’s behaviour and said it had only given a chance to the political opponents of the NC to create news against the Omar Abdullah-led NC government.
–IANS
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