File photo: BJP president Rajnath Singh
The BJP on Sunday lashed out at the Jammu and Kashmir government for detaining party leader Arun Jaitley at Jammu airport and preventing him from going towards riot-hit Kishtwar. Party leaders questioned if the state government was trying to hide something.
"Detaining Shri Arun Jaitley at the Jammu airport by J&K government is highly condemnable. It seems the government is trying to hide something," Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Rajnath Singh said.
"The BJP delegation to Kishtwar was an effort to take stock of the situation and help in building peace and harmony in the state," the BJP chief said in a tweet.
Party's poll campaign committee chief and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi called the action against Mr Jaitley undemocratic.
"Heard that Arun Jaitley and other opposition leaders are not allowed to go to Kishtwar. This is undemocratic," Mr Modi tweeted.
"Stopping opposition leaders in this manner shows that the government does not want the truth about the Kishtwar violence to come out," said Mr Modi.
Speaking on the same lines, party spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi expressed concern over media blackout in the area.
"Stopping the leader of Opposition of the Rajya Sabha who was going to assess the situation is undemocratic and reminds us of 1953 when Sh SP Mookerjee was arrested in 1953 by Sheikh Abdullah when he went to Kashmir," Ms Lekhi said.
Mr Jaitley was not allowed to proceed to Kishtwar after he landed at Jammu airport on Sunday morning, and was requested to return.
Mehbooba Mufti, president of the People's Democratic Party, also said she was not allowed to enter Kishtwar.
The indefinite curfew in Kishtwar ever since riots broke out Friday has remained, without a break, for three days. Authorities also brought Jammu city and Rajouri town under curfew Saturday, in a bid to maintain law and order even as arson and tension spread to other parts of the state.