Politics
NC Accuses BJP of Using MP Ruhullah’s Exit as ‘Operation Lotus’ to Undermine J&K Politics
On Tuesday, November 4, 2026, the ruling National Conference (NC) condemned the departure of Member of Parliament Aga Syed Ruhullah from the party and his Lok Sabha seat, calling it a new attempt to disempower the people of Jammu and Kashmir. NC leaders referred to the move as ‘Operation Lotus’, a phrase traditionally associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Sajad Shaheen, an NC legislator, said the party had seen similar attempts to erode the political setup in 1953 and 1984, and questioned whether BJP national vice‑president Ram Madhav’s remarks about Ruhullah and the claim of ‘ashirwad’ (blessing) were coincidental. Shaheen urged Ruhullah to clarify the matter, noting that the MP owes his political career to the NC.
Shaheen cited the 1953 arrest of NC founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah in Srinagar and the 1984 split of the NC as historical parallels. He accused Ruhullah of duplicity for not opposing the Lieutenant Governor and the BJP on issues such as stalling reservation rationalisation. Shaheen described Ruhullah’s tenure as an MP as dismal, claiming that the parliament is the highest platform and that the MP betrayed the party and the electorate by failing to raise their concerns.
Another NC legislator, Salman Sagar, said the BJP succeeded in extracting Ruhullah from the NC and that the party’s “Operation Lotus” was implemented with his help. Sagar rejected Ruhullah’s claim that the NC was abandoning Article 370 and Article 35A, stating that the struggle began in 1931 and that abandoning those articles would be political suicide. He also criticised the politicisation of martyrs, noting that Ruhullah had handed his resignation to Muhammad Ashraf Mattoo, the father of the deceased teenager Tufail Mattoo, and questioned why Ruhullah had not visited martyrs after winning the parliamentary election.
Sagar said Ruhullah had an ego issue with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and that instead of resigning, the MP should have raised his concerns within the organisational structure and engaged with party stakeholders. He added that the NC was not weak enough for the departure of a single person to impact it.
During a recent meeting of about 20 NC MLAs who criticised the party leadership, Sagar said the party would address the issue within two to three days and that those who tried to create division would not succeed. He also took exception to Ruhullah’s “demeaning words” against NC leadership, describing the language as rowdy.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary also attacked Ruhullah, saying that BJP national vice‑president Ram Madhav’s statements proved that the MP was working under the BJP’s direction. The article was published on November 5, 2026 at 04:50 a.m. IST.