'Opposition, press faced draconian, brute force in Jammu and Kashmir'

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Pic/Twitter IANS

On Sunday, Congress leader and Member of Parliament from Wayanad, Kerala Rahul Gandhi said that opposition leaders and the press had got a taste of the current "draconian administration" in Jammu and Kashmir. Taking to social networking site Twitter, Gandhi said that it has been 20 days since the people of Jammu and Kashmir had their freedom and civil liberties curtailed.

On Saturday, a delegation of Opposition leaders, including Gandhi, were not allowed to enter Jammu and Kashmir and were asked by state administration officials to leave the Srinagar airport when they arrived there on August 24. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders had expressed their intent to visit the Valley to gain the first-hand experience of the situation following the abrogation of Article 370.

At the airport, Gandhi insisted with the officials that he had come to visit the valley at the invitation of the Governor and even suggested the group could split up and the members could visit the Valley individually. However, the officials budged, leaving the leaders with no other option but to return back to the national capital.

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi's Mission Kashmir unsuccessful

Once Gandhi arrived Delhi, he tweeted that the Opposition and the press had got a taste of the "draconian administration" and "brute force" unleashed on the people of Jammu and Kashmir when they tried to visit Srinagar on Saturday. Gandhi also shared video footage of his discussions with the local authorities. In the video, one of the officials was seen reading out the order issued on the movement of the delegation of Opposition leaders.

In a video, the Congress leader alleged that media persons accompanying the delegation were mishandled and beaten up, and claimed it is clear that things are not normal in Jammu and Kashmir. The delegation included Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, and K.C. Venugopal, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, Tiruchi Siva (DMK), Sharad Yadav (LJD), Dinesh Trivedi (TMC), D.S. Raja (CPI), Majeed Menon (NCP), Manoj Jha (RJD) and D. Kupendra Reddy JD(S).

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi, leaders asked to stay away from Srinagar

With inputs from IANS

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