Article 370: Yechury, Raja detained at Srinagar airport

Srinagar, Aug 9 (IANS) CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI General Secretary D. Raja were on Friday detained at the Srinagar airport when they arrived here to meet the ailing CPI-M MLA M.Y. Tarigami and other leaders in the Kashmir Valley.

"Yechury has being detained at Srinagar airport and not allowed to move anywhere. This despite the fact that he had informed the administration about his visit to meet Tarigami who is not well and other party workers," the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) tweeted.

"We strongly protest this illegal detention," the party added.

Earlier in the day, before leaving for Srinagar, Yechury took to Twitter and said: "D. Raja and I are on our way to Srinagar on the 9.55 a.m. Indigo flight to meet Tarigami and our other comrades in Jammu and Kashmir."

The CPI-M leader attached the picture of the letter he wrote to Governor Satya Pal Malik on Thursday seeking permission to meet his party leaders.

In his letter to Malik, Yechury said: "The CPI-M has an active unit in Jammu and Kashmir and it has a MLA, Mohd Yusuf Tarigami, in the dissolved J&K Assembly.

"As the General Secretary of a national party, I wish to visit Tarigami (who I was informed is not keeping good health) and other members of my party. I propose to reach Srinagar on the 9th (August) morning to meet them.

"I hope the administration will not create any hurdles in discharging my responsibilities as a leader of my party," Yechury said.

On Thursday, senior COngress leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was also not allowed to enter Srinagar and was sent back to Delhi.

Azad had gone to Srinagar to meet party leaders and assess the situation following the BJP government's decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the state.