Abrogating Art 370 affected J-K politically, economically: Azad

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Tuesday said that Centre's move to abrogate Article 370 affected Jammu and Kashmir "politically" and "economically" and people in the region are "still in the dark".

"The situation in Jammu and Kashmir has been very worrisome in the last three weeks. Restrictions have not been curbed. People do not have telephone lines and cannot connect with their near and dear ones. They are still in the dark," he told reporters here.

Chiding BJP for stripping the special status during the peak tourism season, Azad said, "On one hand, the government says it is committed to development. But tourism was the backbone of development there which has been finished by the Centre. They also sent back tourists and Amarnath Yatris."

"Fruit industry has also been hampered. This has affected Jammu and Kashmir both politically and economically," he added.

It may be noted that Azad was part of a delegation of opposition leaders led by Rahul Gandhi, who wanted to visit Jammu and Kashmir to review the 'ground reality' last week. However, authorities stopped the delegation from stepping out of Srinagar airport and were sent back to Delhi.