Govt trying to remove nationalist leaders: Rahul on Farooq Abdullah detention

In a sharp attack on the Centre’s Kashmir move, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday that the government is trying to remove “nationalist” leaders like Farooq Abdullah to create a political vacuum that will be filled by terrorists.

On Monday, former chief minister Farooq Abdullah was detained under Jammu and Kashmir’s stringent public safety law that gives the administration the right to detain a person without trial for two years. An order by the state government said the former chief minister’s residence will be treated as a temporary jail.

The Congress leader also added that the move will polarise the rest of India.

“It’s obvious that the Government is trying to remove nationalist leaders like Farooq Abdullah Ji to create a political vacuum in Jammu & Kashmir that will be filled by terrorists,” tweeted Gandhi.

“Kashmir can then permanently be used as a political instrument to polarise the rest of India,” added Gandhi.

The former Congress chief urged the central government to release all leaders “ASAP”.

“The Government should stop creating space for terrorists in Jammu & Kashmir and release all nationalist leaders ASAP,” said Gandhi in another tweet.

The government through a Presidential order on August 5 scrapped Article 370, which gave Jammu and Kashmir its special status. Through the Jammu and Kashmir reorganisation bill, it was divided into two union territories: Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

The state has been under a security lockdown since then with all major leaders of the mainstream political parties placed under house arrest.

The leaders from Delhi have had to knock at the Supreme Court’s door for permission to visit Srinagar. Like Sitaram Yechury had to seek the top court’s permission to visit his party colleague Tarigami in Srinagar.

First Published:
Sep 17, 2019 22:01 IST