New Delhi: The Jammu airport saw a political stand-off earlier this evening. Senior BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar were not allowed to enter the airport terminal and were asked to return immediately to Delhi. They refused.
The leaders were to address a rally in the city tomorrow, one of the stops on the BJP's controversial Ekta Yatra that's meant to culminate on Republic Day with the party hosting the national flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar.
After what the BJP trio described as a "dharna" on the tarmac where their chartered plane was waiting, the trio was finally allowed nearly two hours later to enter the terminal.
Home Minister P Chidambaram, meanwhile, said he phoned Mr Jaitley and said that the BJP leader had made his point and should return to Delhi because "a public meeting is not possible."
Mr Chidambaram said he had asked for the BJP leaders to be given access to the airport lounge.
Ms Swaraj shared the details of her predicament in a series of tweets. "We have landed in Jammu. It appears they have locked the Terminal gates. Not being allowed to go out." In her next posts, she said, "They have served us an Order under S.144 CrPC. They want us to fly back. Initially they were not allowing us to deplane. Now we have come out. We are sitting at the tarmac."
Mr Jaitley - one of the country's most famous lawyers - argued that the state government cannot use Section 144 against his colleagues and him. Section 144 bans the gathering of more than four people. Mr Jaitley says it cannot apply in this case to prohibit entry.
The Ekta Yatra - consisting of thousands of youth party workers of the BJP - is making its way to J&K through Punjab. "We are determined to go and hoist the national flag at the Lal Chowk. The Government should allow us to go there at our risk," said one of Ms Swaraj's tweets from the Jammu airport this evening.
Separatist! s have a nnounced a counter-march to Lal Chowk on Republic Day, adding to the tension. In 1948, it was here that Jawaharlal Nehru promised Kashmir a plebiscite that forms the basis of separatist discourse.
In Delhi, the BJP accused the Congress of trying to provoke "a confrontation and diversion" by stopping the BJP leaders from entering the city of Jammu. Party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Congress wants to deflect attention from the corruption in a series of scams that are being highlighted by the Opposition. Mr Prasad said his party wants to conduct its march peacefully, and that its sole agenda is to take on the separatists in the Kashmir valley who have announced a counter-march to Lal Chowk on Wednesday to take on the BJP.
Omar Abdullah's government has made it clear that large numbers of BJP activists will not be allowed to enter the state. There is tight security at Lakhanpur, the entry point into the state on the border with Punjab.
The decision to have its heavyweights at the frontline shows the BJP is raising the rhetoric. On Saturday, the Prime Minister issued a statement which did not name the BJP, but stressed that Republic Day "is not an occasion to score political points, to embarrass state and local administrations, to create situations that could lead to entirely avoidable problems, or to promote divisive agendas." (Read: Don't promote divisive agendas, says PM)
However, the BJP has run into severe criticism from one of its key allies - Nitish Kumar. "Given the kind of tension prevailing in the valley, this yatra has no meaning and I don't support this," said the Bihar chief minister.
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The leaders were to address a rally in the city tomorrow, one of the stops on the BJP's controversial Ekta Yatra that's meant to culminate on Republic Day with the party hosting the national flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar.
After what the BJP trio described as a "dharna" on the tarmac where their chartered plane was waiting, the trio was finally allowed nearly two hours later to enter the terminal.
Home Minister P Chidambaram, meanwhile, said he phoned Mr Jaitley and said that the BJP leader had made his point and should return to Delhi because "a public meeting is not possible."
Mr Chidambaram said he had asked for the BJP leaders to be given access to the airport lounge.
Ms Swaraj shared the details of her predicament in a series of tweets. "We have landed in Jammu. It appears they have locked the Terminal gates. Not being allowed to go out." In her next posts, she said, "They have served us an Order under S.144 CrPC. They want us to fly back. Initially they were not allowing us to deplane. Now we have come out. We are sitting at the tarmac."
Mr Jaitley - one of the country's most famous lawyers - argued that the state government cannot use Section 144 against his colleagues and him. Section 144 bans the gathering of more than four people. Mr Jaitley says it cannot apply in this case to prohibit entry.
The Ekta Yatra - consisting of thousands of youth party workers of the BJP - is making its way to J&K through Punjab. "We are determined to go and hoist the national flag at the Lal Chowk. The Government should allow us to go there at our risk," said one of Ms Swaraj's tweets from the Jammu airport this evening.
Separatist! s have a nnounced a counter-march to Lal Chowk on Republic Day, adding to the tension. In 1948, it was here that Jawaharlal Nehru promised Kashmir a plebiscite that forms the basis of separatist discourse.
In Delhi, the BJP accused the Congress of trying to provoke "a confrontation and diversion" by stopping the BJP leaders from entering the city of Jammu. Party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Congress wants to deflect attention from the corruption in a series of scams that are being highlighted by the Opposition. Mr Prasad said his party wants to conduct its march peacefully, and that its sole agenda is to take on the separatists in the Kashmir valley who have announced a counter-march to Lal Chowk on Wednesday to take on the BJP.
Omar Abdullah's government has made it clear that large numbers of BJP activists will not be allowed to enter the state. There is tight security at Lakhanpur, the entry point into the state on the border with Punjab.
The decision to have its heavyweights at the frontline shows the BJP is raising the rhetoric. On Saturday, the Prime Minister issued a statement which did not name the BJP, but stressed that Republic Day "is not an occasion to score political points, to embarrass state and local administrations, to create situations that could lead to entirely avoidable problems, or to promote divisive agendas." (Read: Don't promote divisive agendas, says PM)
However, the BJP has run into severe criticism from one of its key allies - Nitish Kumar. "Given the kind of tension prevailing in the valley, this yatra has no meaning and I don't support this," said the Bihar chief minister.
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