Azad sent back to Delhi from Jammu airport

Amit Khajuria

Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 20

The former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, was on Tuesday afternoon stopped at the Jammu airport and sent back to Delhi. 

This is for the second time since the abolition of Article 370 when the senior Congress leader was not allowed to enter J&K. Earlier, he was stopped at Srinagar Airport on August 8 and sent back to Delhi.

The administration, according to sources, perceived that Azad’s presence could lead to trouble in the relatively calm Jammu region where peace had been prevailing since August 5. 

Senior Congress leaders, including former Member Parliament Madan Lal Sharma, former Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand and Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Ravinder Sharma who went to receive Azad, were not allowed to enter the airport premises.

According to sources, Azad landed at Jammu airport at 2.55pm in Vistara flight UK-812, where he was immediately detained and later sent back to Delhi in Go Air Flight G8-171 at 4.05pm.

Azad has been the face of the Opposition against the abrogation of Article 370 and reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir with the UT status to Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir.

Calling the action “dictatorial”, the state Congress said the government had imposed “undeclared Emergency” in Jammu and Kashmir.

“This is very unfortunate that the state administration has once again sent him back from his own state. His brothers, sister, relatives are here in Jammu and he had come to meet them, but unfortunately the officials didn’t allow him for the reason best known to the administration,” said former Congress MP Madan Lal Sharma.

“This is clear dictatorship. The government has implemented undeclared emergency in Jammu and Kashmir. They did not even allow us to enter the airport, we couldn’t even meet him,” he added.

Despite repeated attempts, the district administration was unavailable to comment on the issue.