Situation in J&K very bad: Azad
: Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Tuesday reached here on the second-leg of his six-day tour of Jammu and Kashmir and said there was “no freedom of speech in the state” and that “situation was very bad”. He will be meeting delegations during his two-day visit to Jammu.
Azad had reached Srinagar on Friday on his maiden visit to the state after the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status on August 5.
His three earlier bids to reach Srinagar had failed as he had been turned back from the airport by the authorities.
While addressing mediapersons here, Azad said, “I do not have to say anything to media right now. I spent four days in Kashmir and arrived here to spend two more days in Jammu. After the end of the sixday tour, I will say whatever I have to say.”
He said, “The situation in Kashmir is very bad. I was not even allowed by the administration to visit 10 per cent of the places where I had planned to go in the valley during my stay there.”
Asked about detention of political leaders and curbs on political activities, Azad said, “There is no mark of freedom of speech in Jammu and Kashmir.” Azad’s visit became possible after the Supreme Court on September 16 allowed him to tour the state.
A bench, headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi, had allowed the Congress leader to visit four districts—Srinagar, Jammu, Baramulla, Anantnag.
FORMER CHIEF MINISTER SAYS THERE IS NO FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR