Article 370 a ‘Wrong’ Decision by Modi Government, People ‘Unhappy’ in Jammu And Kashmir: Ghulam Nabi Azad

He further called for the release of political leaders to restore normalcy in the Valley

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ghulam Nabi Azad, who has been among the most vocal voices in the party against abrogation of Article 370, spoke out against the decision, once again, on Monday.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Azad, who is a former Chief Minister of the Jammu and Kashmir, said that the Modi government had taken a ‘wrong’ decision. He further said that the decision is wrong as nobody in the Valley is happy and as such, the decision should be reversed.

He further called for the release of various political leaders, who have been put under house arrest, to restore normalcy in the former state which is now a union territory (UT) after being split into two separate UTs of J&K and Ladakh.

On August 8, three days after the announcement of the move, Azad, along with Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Gulam Ahmed Mir, was stopped at Srinagar Airport while trying to enter the city to take stock of the situation there. Within hours, he was sent back to the national capital.

The same day, he had also taken a swipe at National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, saying that the NSA could have ‘paid’ off Kashmiri locals. This was in response to a series of videos which emerged on August 7 and in which Doval is seen interacting and eating with locals in Shopian.

Previously, Azad has said that as long as he is outside and ‘not behind bars’, he will continue to speak on behalf of the Kashmiris. He has also called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP to ‘apologise’ to everyone in the Valley as they have finished Jammu and Kashmir.