Srinagar, Nov 2 (HS): Ministers and top government offices moved from the Kashmir Valley to Jammu on Monday under the Darbar Move, but it has done little to cool the Valley’s politics. While the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held a large rally of party workers at Sher-e-Kashmir Park in Srinagar on Monday, the political temperature is set to rise further on Tuesday, when Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi formally resigns from the primary membership of the National Conference (NC) and from his Lok Sabha seat.

Sources said Ruhullah’s supporters are busy with preparations for Tuesday’s rally. He visited Behisht-e-Zahra Park in Budgam himself on Sunday to inspect the venue. Reactions from political leaders to his decision and the rally continue to come in.

Asked about the rally, Cabinet Minister Javed Ahmed Rana told reporters on Monday: “On the third, we will know how much strength Aga Ruhullah has.”

At Sher-e-Kashmir Park, PDP MLA from Budgam Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi told reporters: “This is an internal matter of the National Conference. We will see what the situation is tomorrow. Whatever role the PDP has to play, we will certainly play it.”

PDP MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Para said at the same venue: “The questions he (Ruhullah) has raised should be answered by the National Conference. These are the same questions the people are asking the NC.”

In Anantnag, a group of people held a press conference to announce their support for Ruhullah. One member of the group said: “I withdrew from mainstream politics in 2016. Today I see a ray of hope, and we see it in Ruhullah. He is speaking about the issues that all Kashmiris, including us, want to raise. Politically aware people in Anantnag district have decided to add their voice to Aga Sahib’s, because this voice is for the future of Jammu and Kashmir.”

Ruhullah announced in late August that he would quit the party and his Srinagar seat on November 3, a few days after NC president Dr Farooq Abdullah challenged him to resign and go back to the people if he believed voters had backed him personally. November 3 is the 26th death anniversary of his father, Aga Syed Mehdi. Ruhullah had said he would submit his resignation to the Lok Sabha Speaker and to Farooq Abdullah, and would release the letter at the Budgam rally and explain his reasons.

Ruhullah has alleged that the NC promised in its election manifesto to fight for the restoration of Article 370 but backed away from it after winning. He has said he does not want to be part of “lies and betrayal”. He has also said that once a by-election is announced, he will consult the people.

At a press conference on Sunday, Islamic scholar Dr Muhammad Sameer Shafi Siddiqui, regarded as a close associate of Ruhullah, urged people across Kashmir to rise above religion and political affiliation and attend the Budgam rally. He said Ruhullah’s movement is a people’s movement above organisations, and that, according to him, Ruhullah wants the constitutional guarantees of the people of Kashmir on Article 370, land and jobs to be protected.

Political leader and analyst Iftikhar Hussain Misgar told Hindusthan Samachar last week that Ruhullah voices the political aspirations of Kashmir’s people, especially its youth. “If Ruhullah Sahib had been after office, he would not have announced his resignation,” Misgar said. “He wants to serve the people by becoming the voice of their conscience.” Misgar added: “We are not against the Omar government, and we are not trying to woo any leader of that party.”

The NC leadership has so far largely projected unity. Altaf Kaloo, who was recently sworn in as a minister, said when asked about Ruhullah’s November 3 announcement: “November 3 has not come yet. We will not let him part ways.”

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Hindusthan Samachar / Zahoor Hussain Bhat