Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is expected to lead a delegation of Opposition parties to Kashmir on Saturday to meet people and political leaders in the valley where restrictions and curbs on free movement have been imposed after the revocation of Article 370 and Article 35 A. Gandhi would be accompanied by leaders from Congress, CPI(M), CPI, RJD, NCP, TMC and DMK. Senior Congress leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma would be part of the delegation.
The Centre has, however, opposed the proposed visit of the opposition leaders to Kashmir and said they should wait until the situation normalises in Kashmir. Azad was twice prevented from visiting Kashmir after the revocation of the special status to Jammu and Kashmir and sent back to Delhi from the Jammu airpoirt. The delegation intends to meet the political leaders in Srinagar who have been put under preventive detention in their homes including two former chief ministers—Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti. The two have been lodged, according to sources, in Hari Niwas and Chasm Shahi on the banks of Dal lake. The J&K government has also detained several other political leaders including senior leader Ali Muhammad Sagar of NC, Sajad Lone of People's Conference and Shah Faesal of J&K People's Movement.
The government on Friday declared Centaur Hotel, where many detainees have been kept, as sub-jail under a deputy superintendent. The detainees will be entitled to all the rights under the jail manual.
