Srinagar, November 4: The National Conference (NC) on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of executing its alleged "Operation Lotus" in Kashmir by pushing Srinagar Lok Sabha MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi out of the regional party.
Addressing a press conference at the NC headquarters in Srinagar, party leader and Hazratbal MLA Salman Sagar said the BJP had succeeded in weakening the National Conference by creating divisions within its ranks.
Mehdi resigned from the National Conference as well as his Lok Sabha membership on Tuesday, following a prolonged disagreement with the party leadership over its stand on the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's special status.
"With a heavy heart, I say that the BJP has succeeded in pushing Aga Ruhullah out. He was elected as an MP on the National Conference ticket," Sagar said.
Flanked by Banihal MLA Sajad Shaheen, Sagar alleged that Mehdi had aligned himself with forces that had been attempting to weaken the National Conference for decades.
He claimed that the BJP had earlier managed to bring several NC leaders, including former minister Devender Singh Rana and Surjit Singh Slathia, into its fold in Jammu and had now succeeded in creating a similar situation in Kashmir.
"Operation Lotus, which targets elected representatives to break political parties across the country, has now been executed in Kashmir," he alleged.
Sagar questioned the circumstances surrounding Mehdi's resignation, suggesting that there could be undisclosed reasons behind his decision to leave the party.
He also criticised Mehdi for targeting Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, asserting that neither the National Conference nor its leadership would be weakened by the departure of an individual leader.
"Omar Abdullah and the National Conference are not so fragile that the arrival or departure of one person will shake us," he said.
Responding to Mehdi's remarks about preventing what he described as Delhi's agenda in Jammu and Kashmir, Sagar questioned why the former MP had not raised similar concerns about the PDP-BJP coalition government formed in 2015.
He further reacted to Mehdi's claim that he had recorded private conversations with Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah following the abrogation of Article 370, saying that secretly recording conversations with the party's senior leadership raised questions about political conduct.
Meanwhile, Sajad Shaheen accused Mehdi of betraying the National Conference, its supporters and the electorate of his constituency.
"He has not only betrayed the party but also the people who elected him," Shaheen said.
He also alleged that attempts were being made to divide the people of Jammu and Kashmir by encouraging the emergence of multiple political parties.
On reports of resentment among some NC MLAs following the recent expansion of the Council of Ministers, Sagar maintained that the party remained united and that internal differences would be resolved through discussions.
He expressed confidence that senior party leaders, including Mubarak Gul, Majeed Sahib, Peerzada Sahib and Farooq Shah, would continue to stand with the National Conference.
Sagar also alleged that certain agencies were attempting to create instability within the party but maintained that such efforts would not affect the government.
The political developments come amid growing speculation over possible realignments in Jammu and Kashmir following Ruhullah's resignation and his criticism of the NC leadership over the issue of restoring the region's special status.
