Caravan News
SRINAGAR — 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 claimed that the security personnel stopped them at the airport.
“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.
.@SitaramYechury 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 CPIM MLA MY Tarigami who is not well & other party workers.
We strongly protest this illegal detention.— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) August 9, 2019
“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.”
Com D Raja and I are on our way to Srinagar on the 9.55 am Indigo flight to meet Com Yousuf Tarigami and our other comrades in Jammu & Kashmir pic.twitter.com/axRKZkLbV6
— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) August 9, 2019
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.
Meanwhile, the CPI-M politburo, in a tweet, condemned the detention of General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI General Secretary D. Raja at the Srinagar airport on Friday saying this shows the authoritarian face of the government.
CPIM Politburo condemns the detention of General Secretary @SitaramYechury & D Raja, CPI General Secretary, @ Srinagar airport. This shows the authoritarian face of the Govt.
Politburo calls upon the people to protest this anti-democratic act of the Govt.https://t.co/Vo8MCKeQup— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) August 9, 2019
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.
