New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and member of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Gulam Nabi Azad met National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah after the Centre revoked his detention order following his release on Friday. Condemning the abrogation of article 370, the leaders called for the release of the detained mainstream leaders and for restoring democracy in the state. In the two-hour-long meeting, there was a discussion as to how the political process should be initiated in the state as development has come to a halt.
"In order to reinstate development in the state, detained political leaders should be released and the political process should be re-initiated. And for this, elections need to be conducted", said Gulam Nabi Azad while addressing the reporters.
BJP will have to pay for detention of leaders, says Congress leader Meem Afzal While talking to ETV Bharat, Congress leader Meem Afzal said, "Keeping political leaders under detention for so long is complete injustice. It's a matter of shame that a leader who has worked rigorously for the development of Jammu and Kashmir was kept as a traitor for seven months. BJP will have to pay for this".
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Stressing on the need to release the detained leaders in the other parts of the state, Meem Afzal said, "Congress party will prepare its strategy but ahead of that Modi government should put an end to the restrictions imposed on the leaders".
Claiming the interaction of Abdullah and Azad to be personal, Afzal went on to add, "Ghulam Nabi Azad is a big leader of Jammu and Kashmir and has close relations with Farooq Abdullah. It would be wrong to politicize this meeting". However, Congress has time and again slammed the Centre for the detention of three former Chief Ministers - Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti under the provisions of stringent Public Safety Act (PSA).
MP Farooq Abdullah has expressed his desire to attend the Parliament session in Delhi after his release and is hopeful that his son Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti will be released soon.
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After the ruling party BJP ended its alliance with PDP in 2018, the series of political development in the state indicate that for the upcoming elections National Conference and Congress can join hands. There is speculation that Congress can also demand the elections in the state.
