The Congress on Thursday termed as ‘illegal’ the action of the administration of Kashmir to stop senior party leader and leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad from entering Srinagar.
In a post on its official twitter handle, the Congress said,’’If things are normal in Kashmir as the BJP Government claims, why has the former CM of Jammu and Kashmir Ghulam Nabi Azad been stopped from entering Kashmir? It is flat out illegal and shows that the BJP Government is lying to the people of India again. ‘’
Party leader and Mumbai Congress chief Milind Deora also criticised action of the Kashmir administration. ‘’I condemn this action against Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition,’’Deora said.
‘’ Government of India‘s mistreatment of elected leaders is most unfortunate and unacceptable. Kashmiris’ civil liberties must be restored, followed by an all party delegation’s visit to Jammu and Kasmir,’’he added.
Ghulam Nabi Azad was on Thursday stopped at the Srinagar airport where he had arrived to hold a meeting with Congress leaders at the Pradesh Congress Committee office, party sources said. Azad, who was accompanied by Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Ghulam Ahmed Mir,
had left Delhi to visit Srinagar on Thursday to hold a meeting with Congress leaders at the Pradesh Congress Committee office in Srinagar.
Azad and Mir were stopped from exiting the airport.
The incident comes in the wake of Azad’s comments on national security Advisor Ajit Doval’s visit to the Valley on Wednesday wherein Azad had stated that “Anyone can be brought along with money”.
The move comes just days after former chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah were detained following the Centre’s move to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370, on Monday.
