A 12-member delegation of Opposition leaders led by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was sent back by the Jammu & Kashmir Government from Srinagar airport after detaining them at the airport for around three hours on Saturday.

The delegation was visiting Srinagar to take stock of the ground situation in the aftermath of scrapping of Article 370. On their arrival in Srinagar airport, the leaders of the delegation were escorted to the VIP lounge and were not allowed to move out of the airport premises.

Amid chaos and confusion, which prevailed inside airport premises, some media persons, accompanying the delegation, were reportedly heckled by the security personnel deployed at the airport. The security personnel repeatedly told media persons not to shoot inside Srinagar airport as the same has been categorised as Defence airport and photography is prohibited there.

Media persons alleged they were manhandled by the security personnel without ascribing any reasons at the Srinagar airport.

After returning from Srinagar, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the media persons who were with the delegation were mishandled and beaten up and the situation in Jammu and Kashmir “clearly is not normal”.

After landing at the Delhi airport, Rahul Gandhi said that the delegation wanted to get a sense of what people were going through in the region but “we were not allowed beyond the airport”.

Rahul Gandhi said, “Some days ago I was invited by the governor to visit J&K. I accepted the invitation. We wanted to get a sense of what people are going through, but we weren’t allowed beyond the airport. Press people with us were mishandled, beaten. It’s clear that the situation in J&K isn’t normal.”

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was accompanying Rahul Gandhi on his visit to Kashmir, said that the situation in Srinagar is “terrifying”.

“We weren’t allowed to go to the city, but the situation in J&K is terrifying. The stories we heard from the passengers of Kashmir present in our flight, would bring tears even to a stone,” Ghulam Nabi Azad said.

On their arrival in Srinagar, senior officers had reportedly informed the leaders of the delegation that in view of imposition of Section 144 of CrPC they cannot be permitted to step out of Srinagar airport.

The delegation comprising leaders from the Congress party, CPI-M, CPI, RJD, NCP, TMC and DMK  wanted to visit Srinagar to interact with the local residents, and meet  state politicians who were put under house arrest for past 20 days.

Rahul Gandhi was accompanied by Ghulam Nabi Azad,  KC Venugopal, from the Congress party while CPI-M’s Sitaram Yechury, CPI’s D Raja, LJD’s Sharad Yadav, JD(S) MP D Kupendra Reddy, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, RJD’s Manoj Jha and Dinesh Trivedi from TMC were also part of the  delegation.

Reacting strongly to the visit of opposition leaders led by Rahul Gandhi, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Governor Satya Pal Malik on Saturday said that he had invited Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to Kashmir out of goodwill. Satya Pal Malik also said that while he had invited Rahul Gandhi purely out of goodwill, the Congress leader started politicising the J&K issue.

Satya Pal Malik also said that the political parties should keep in mind the national interest in such situations.

Satya Pal Malik further said that Rahul Gandhi should have spoken when his colleague was speaking in Parliament after the Centre abrogated Article 370 from the region.

“There is no need for him now,” Satya Pal Malik said. 

In New Delhi, Congress  slammed Narendra Modi government for stopping an opposition delegation from visiting Srinagar and asked why the delegation was sent back if the situation in J&K is normal as the government has claimed. The party also asked what the Modi government was trying to hide by not letting the delegation enter Kashmir.

Taking to Twitter, Congress said, “If the situation in Jammu & Kashmir is “normal” as the govt claims, why has the delegation of Opposition leaders led by Shri @RahulGandhi been sent back from Srinagar airport? What is the Modi govt trying to hide?”

Before boarding the flight from New Delhi,leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters outside his residence, “ we are law abiding citizens and responsible leaders. We are not visiting Kashmir valley to violate any law or disturb peace. We are visiting Kashmir to assess the ground situation arising out of 20 day long shutdown”.

He also accused the Union government of hiding truth and not allowing the political leaders from assessing the situation and reaching out to the masses.

He said, “if government is claiming every thing is fine and situation is normal then why former Chief Ministers Dr Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti have been put under house arrest”.

Earlier, late Friday evening the State Government  had warned political parties claiming that attempts shouldn’t be made by senior political leaders to disturb gradual restoration of normal life in Jammu and Kashmir.

Without referring to the proposed visit of senior political leaders to Srinagar, a Government spokesman urged the politicians to cooperate and not visit Srinagar as they would be putting other people to inconveniences.

“They (the political leaders) will also be violating restrictions that are still in place in many areas. Senior leaders should understand that top priority would be given to maintaining peace, order and preventing loss of human lives,” the spokesman said.