NC MLA detained at Srinagar airport after ammo found in luggage

A National Conference legislator was detained at Srinagar airport on Sunday after ammunition was discovered in his luggage, but released after verification, officials said.

Dr Bashir Ahmad Veeri, the MLA from Bijbehara assembly constituency of Anantnag district, was stopped when the ammunition was detected by the X-ray machine during the scanning of the luggage.

"The MLA was later released after he showed the licence for a pistol he possesses legally," an official said.

Dr Bashir Ahmad Veeri, a doctor-turned-politician, defeated Peoples Democratic Party's Iltija Mufti, daughter of party President and former Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, in Bijbehara.

The PDP performed very poorly in the 2024 Assembly election. In the 2014 Assembly elections - the previous elections in J&K, it had won 29 seats and formed a coalition government with the BJP. In 2024, the PDP managed to win just three assembly seats - Pulwama, Tral, and Kupwara.

The NC won 42, the BJP 29, the Congress six, the CPI-M one, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Peoples Conference one each and independents 7 seats. Six independent MLAs later joined the NC while the Congress also supported the Omar Abdullah-led NC government. The Congress, however, said that it would not join the government as long as J&K remained a UT.

The NC fought the assembly election making restoration of Article 370 and statehood its main electoral promise. In the first cabinet meeting chaired by Omar Abdullah, the J&K cabinet passed a resolution for the restoration of statehood. Chief Minister Abdullah submitted a copy of the resolution passed by the cabinet to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his first visit to New Delhi after taking over.

The NC has also decided to present a resolution for the restoration of Article 370 in the Assembly that meets here on November 4.