Cong slams Union Ministers visit to J&K asks,'Why opposition leaders not allowed?'

New Delhi, Jan 16: Questioning the Modi government on the move of sending 36 Union Ministers to Kashmir Valley, the Congress on Wednesday asked why are the opposition leaders barred from visiting the Union Territory.

Taking to Twitter, party leader Manish Tewari wrote,"... Ostensibly 36 Union Ministers have been instructed to blitzkrieg Jammu and Kashmir btwn Jan 18 th -23 rd 2020.51 visits in Jammu,8 planned forSrinagar.If this is correct why should opposition be debarred from J&K?.''

Senior Congress leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said,''Whom will they meet there? In our experience, 2 foreign delegations have been there, they only meet those people who have been sent there by the central government & told what to say.''

Earlier, minister of State for Home G Kishen Reddy had written a letter to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam, informing about the scheduled visits. There will be 51 visits to Jammu and eight to Srinagar.

The schedule for the visit of the ministers will also be discussed and finalised at a meeting of the Union Council of Ministers on January 17.

This will be the second round of visit by the Union ministers to Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of the special status of the erstwhile state on August 5.