SRINAGAR, Sept 18: The ruling National Conference (NC) leader and Minister Sakina Itoo and Member of Parliament (MP) from Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency, Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, entered into a verbal brawl today by castigating and reminding each other about their duties.Itoo took a jibe at Ruhullah for criticizing the Government over the prolonged closure of the National Highway, stating that instead of criticising the Government, he should speak about the core issues of Jammu and Kashmir in the Parliament.Speaking to reporters, the Minister said that Ruhullah himself contested from the NC ticket and has been elected by the people to speak for them in the Parliament.
“Now he is pointing fingers at us. He should instead raise people’s issues in the Parliament that he deems are crucial and merit concern,” she said.
She added that the MP should fulfil his duties as a Parliamentarian and not criticise the NC-led Government here.
Ruhullah later took to X, and said that those who bowed in obedience cannot raise their eyes to see the struggle of those who resist oppression.
“This Office understands that those who have bent their back in obedience can’t look up to see the work of those fighting oppression. Since their servility may not allow them to follow Parliament or read official communications, we will gladly courier a compilation of speeches, interventions and updates to their desks.”
He said that those who have chosen servility cannot comprehend the role of those who continue to challenge oppression.
The MP also listed several issues he has raised on the floor of Parliament, saying his record is publicly available. He said that the matters highlighted by him include the weakening of Kashmir’s apple and horticulture sector, repeated illegal detentions, encroachments on Waqf properties and concerns over road, railway and health infrastructure.
He pointed out that he had secured CT scan facilities for district hospitals and disbursed more than five crore rupees under the MPLADS fund.
The MP also reminded that he had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah to press for the release of detainees and had separately taken up highway expansion and road development with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. He said his efforts ensured that the extension of the Expressway from its existing point to Sonamarg via Srinagar was agreed upon.
In addition, the MP mentioned facilitating hundreds of patients suffering from cancer and other life-threatening diseases by granting them relief from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF).
“All of this is available for public viewing on Lok Sabha TV and through RTI,” he wrote.
“As for the unsolicited advice to ‘talk’, your obedience to the oppressor may have earned you comfort, but it left us Kashmiris alone in the far harder task of challenging that very power,” he wrote.
