Rahul Gandhi, Other Opposition Leaders To Visit Jammu And Kashmir Today

Congress's Rahul Gandhi and leaders from various opposition parties will visit Jammu and Kashmir today where restrictions have been imposed since the central government withdrew special status under Article 370 and split the state into two Union Territories earlier this month.

Among the parties that will be part of the opposition all-party delegation that will land at Srinagar are Congress, CPI-M, CPI, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Nationalist Congress Party, Trinamool Congress and the DMK, news agency Press Trust of India reports, quoting sources.

Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma are the top Congress leaders other than Rahul Gandhi who are likely to visit. Mr Azad was twice stopped at Jammu airport, most recently on Tuesday, and was "forcibly" sent back to Delhi on each occasion.

CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury, CPI's D Raja, DMK's Tiruchi Siva, RJD's Manoj Jha and Dinesh Trivedi from Trinamool Congress will also be part of the delegation, the PTI report adds.

The report says the leaders also intend to visit some other parts of the state, if allowed to enter.

So far, the government has not allowed any political leader to enter the state.

The Jammu and Kashmir Department of Information and Public Relations on Friday evening requested the opposition leaders to not visit Srinagar as it would "disturb the gradual restoration of normal life."

"They would also be violating restrictions that are still there in many areas. Senior leaders should understand that top priority would be given to maintaining peace, order and preventing loss of human lives," the Jammu and Kashmir Department of Information and Public Relations tweeted.

attempts should not be made by senior political leaders to disturb the gradual restoration of normal life. Political leaders are requested to cooperate and not visit Srinagar as they would be putting other people to inconvenience. (2/3)

— DIPR-J&K (@diprjk) August 23, 2019

On Thursday, the opposition parties staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, to demand the release of scores of political leaders arrested or detained in Jammu and Kashmir. 

Nearly 400 Jammu and Kashmir politicians and leaders, including former Chief Ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, were either arrested or detained following the centre's decision to withdraw special status. The move also prompted a stringent security lockdown across the region that included the snapping of phone and internet services, as the centre looked to quell protests against its decision.

With inputs from PTI