J&K oppn leaders target L-G for comment on Hurriyat's Mirwaiz

Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha's assertion that Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq is not under house arrest triggered reactions from political parties in J&K, even as the security deployment at Mirwaiz's house does not allow him to move out.

Sinha had said in a recent interview that Mirwaiz was not under house arrest and that the police around his residence was stationed for his safety. He had said that Mirwaiz should decide what he wants to do.

However, the Mirwaiz-led Hurriyat termed Sinha's statement a "blatant misrepresentation of facts and denial of his incarceration is unbelievable".

"I continue to be under house arrest. They are not letting any media in. Nothing has changed. They have just moved the one tonne (vehicle) a bit back while police and CRPF are at the gate," Mirwaiz told ET. "I guess they don't want the media to take pictures of my gate with the police vehicle blocking it."

The police has not officially clarified the matter, even as the personnel deployed around Mirwaiz's house did not allow any journalist to meet him even on Sunday. The Hurriyat Conference reiterated that Mirwaiz was under house arrest since August 4.

J&K former CM Omar Abdullah said, "LG says one thing and the police does something entirely different."

Earlier, People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti termed the J&K administration's assertion a "bald faced lie". J&K People's Conference chief Sajad Lone said the LG needs to verify the facts. "His statements don't reflect reality."