Ghulam Nabi Azad stopped at Srinagar airport, sent back to Delhi

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad who was on way to visit Valley was sent back from Srinagar airport on Thursday. The Rajya Sabha member was accompanied by Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Ghulam Ahmed Mir. This comes days after India government removed part of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that gave Jammu and Kashmir a significant autonomy. The central government also divided the state in two Union Territories (UTs) - Jammu and Kashmir with its own legislature and Ladakh with legislature.

Earlier in the Azad had stirred a controversy or alleging that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir was orchestrated with money. Doval was seen having lunch with locals in Shopian of South Kashmir on Wednesday afternoon in a video. Terming the comment “unfortunate”, BJP national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said that such remarks were expected from the “people of Pakistan” and not from India’s “biggest political party”.

Ghulam Nabi Azad labelled the ruling BJP as “traitorous” for its decision to repeal Article 370. "I say that Maharaja Hari Singh didn't chose Pakistan over India despite being of the same religion because he trusted in our secular framework. But, that trust has been broken," he had said.