Ghulam Nabi Azad condemns house arrest of NC chief Farooq Abdullah

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday criticised the decision to detain National Conference (NC) leader, Farooq Abdullah, saying that there has been no democracy in the country for the last six years and no government has behaved in such a manner with other political parties and its leaders.

'No democracy in the country'

Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "This does not happen in a democratic country. The world was proud of India's democracy. This government is suppressing the voices of the people. We have a right to hold political activities and raise our concerns. This has happened for the first time since independence that political leaders have been put behind bars for doing nothing. I condemn this act by the government. There has been no democracy in the country for the last six years. No government has behaved in such a manner with other political parties and its leaders," he said.

'Unacceptable behaviour by the Centre'

Farooq Abdullah was detained at his house in Srinagar at around 10:30 on Wednesday morning. Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, was also critical of the detention of Abdullah's daughter and sister for protesting against the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories. "It is upsetting that the family of political leaders like Farooq Abdullah were arrested by the police for holding a silent protest. They were just sitting quietly in the park holding placards. Not only that, several other small leaders who do not have any charges against them have also been put behind bars. The female protesters were manhandled by the police and were locked up in the Central Jail. This kind of behaviour by the Centre is unacceptable," he further stated.

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Criticises the Centre 

"I condemn this. The central government has withdrawn the provisions of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir to bag votes. This is not right," the Congress leader added. Many political leaders, including Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah, have been placed under detention or house arrest since August. People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti was also detained. He further targeted the Modi government and said that terrorism has got a fillip in India after the BJP came to power. "Terrorism has got a fillip ever since BJP came to power at the Centre because they could not handle the situation, they have no clue about Jammu and Kashmir politics except sloganeering. In Jammu and Kashmir, militancy is on the rise because of the mishandling of affairs by the BJP government."

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(With ANI inputs)