New Delhi:The Central government on Tuesday said that the freedom of speech and expression is there in Jammu and Kashmir but inciting speeches must be stopped.
Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, made the contentions on petitions filed by Kashmir Times Editor Anuradha Bhasin and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad with respect to the imposition of communication and other blockades in the region.
"Proactive and inciting speeches should be stopped and at the same time, freedom of speech and expression must be there," Mehta told a bench headed by Justice N V Ramana.
In August, the central government had scrapped Article 370 and bifurcate the erstwhile state into two UTs -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Following this, phone lines and the internet were blocked in the region.