Rahul Gandhi condemns the arrest of Congress leaders in J&K

NEW DELHI: On Friday, the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had condemned the "arrest" of the Jammu and Kashmir party chief Ghulam Ahmed Mir and spokesperson Ravinder Sharma, by saying that, it was another "body blow" to democracy by the government.

"I strongly condemn the arrest of our J&K PCC Chief, Shri Ghulam Ahmed Mir and spokesperson, Shri Ravinder Sharma in Jammu today. With this unprovoked action against a national political party, the government has delivered democracy another body blow. When will this madness end?" he tweeted.

The alleged arrests were made hours after the state administration had announced that the restrictions would be withdrawn, phone lines would be restored and schools and offices in Kashmir would be reopening next week.

On Friday evening, Congress had tweeted, "Our spokesperson in JK Shri Ravinder Sharma was illegally arrested while conducting a press conference. And so was the PCC chief Shri Ghulam Ahmed. We condemn this dictatorial move by the Modi government and demand that they be released immediately."

The party had alleged, "Widespread illegal arrests by the Modi Govt all across J&K shows that the Govt doesn't care for civil liberties and democratic processes. #Stop Illegal Arrests In Kashmir."

Among the arrested politicians were former chief minister Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, who remain in custody in safehouses in Srinagar.

The Chief Secretary of the state, BVR Subrahmanyam, referring to the Kashmir leaders who are placed under preventive custody, had said, "Preventive detentions are being continuously reviewed and appropriate decisions will be made based on law and order assessments."