Congress stages walkout in Lok Sabha, demands release of Abdullahs, other detained leaders

The Congress party on Wednesday staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha. The leaders of the party were demanding the release of National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, and other Jammu and Kashmir leaders who have been detained. 

Farooq Abdullah and several other leaders, including Omar Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti were detained after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. 

Abdullah's detention was extended for three more months under the Public Safety Act in December last year. The three-term chief minister of the former state continues to remain at his residence, which has been declared a sub-jail.

READ | BJP Tamil Nadu sends razors to detained Omar Abdullah after his bearded photo goes viral

'Are will a democracy?'- Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

Earlier in the day, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had taken to her official Twitter handle and slammed the government over the detention of two Ex-Chief Ministers. She stated that for the last 6 months, the two former CMs and other leaders have been incarcerated, and millions of other people were locked down. 

READ | Detained since Aug 5, Omar Abdullah now shifted to his residence from the guest house

Abrogation of Article 370

On August 5, Parliament abrogated Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that exempted Jammu and Kashmir from following the Indian Constitution except for Article 1 and itself, thus giving special rights to the state. Additionally, the Modi government bifurcated the state of Jammu and Kashmir and changed its status to Union Territories - Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh. 

Ahead of the historic decision, the Central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi placed around 40,000 troops in the state and placed the mainstream leaders including three chief ministers - NC's Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, and PDP's Mehbooba Mufti under what they called "preventive custody". The Centre after intimation from Army also evacuated Amarnath yatris, and the Chinar Corps of Indian Army revealed that they had intelligence inputs that there were attempts of attacks on Amarnath Yatra by Pakistan.

Centre imposed a complete ban on the internet in the valley and phone lines including mobile networks were shut. The central government said that it was done to prevent fake news and provocation from Pakistan. After six months of revocation, and SC's direction, the government restored internet broadband facilities. The Modi government has set up massive developmental plans for the valley, however many areas are still under lockdown.

READ | NC seeks review on J&K's new holiday list after govt drops Sheikh Abdullah's birth anniv

READ | DMK chief Stalin condemns Farooq Abdullah's extended detention, demands his release

(With inputs from ANI)