Jailed Baramulla MP Sheikh Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid, is mulling resignation from his Lok Sabha seat over his purported inability to serve the people, with his party starting a broad-based consultation process to help him decide.
Rashid, who heads the Awami Ittehad Party and has been in Tihar jail for the last seven years on terror charges, had defeated now chief minister Omar Abdullah from the Baramulla parliamentary constituency by a margin of over 2 lakh votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The AIP leader has said the charges against him are unfounded and politically
motivated.
The AIP said Rashid had expressed his intention to step down as MP, citing his inability to effectively reach out to and serve the people who elected him with a massive mandate. The party has decided to seek the opinion of its grassroots cadre.
AIP chief spokesperson Inam-un-Nabi said: “After carefully examining all dimensions of the issue, the committee on political affairs has decided that party functionaries at various levels will participate in a two-day consultative exercise to deliberate on whether Engineer Rashid should continue as Member of Parliament or relinquish the position.”