Srinagar, June 21 -- Without naming Ruhullah directly, Omar pushed back against criticism aimed at the party's elected MLAs."All NC MLAs are competent and have been working for the people."Where can you bring the new faces? The people have chosen them for five years. Why are you wasting your time? You should look into the work," Omar said."Those raising questions should show their own report card first. NC MLAs will show theirs when the time comes," he added.

His remarks followed Ruhullah's recent public statement in which the Srinagar MP voiced deep dissatisfaction with the state's political culture."The quality of politics that we have has degraded. It won't make a difference if you change parties; we've seen people switch sides. Until...