A day after he was detained at the Jammu Airport while on his way to violence-hit Kishtwar, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley on Monday lashed out at the Omar Abdullah government, saying that Jammu and Kashmir is not the personal property of one family.
"The state of Jammu and Kashmir is not a personal property of one family. It is an integral part of India and you will have to decide how it will be governed," Leader of Opposition Jaitley told members of the Rajya Sabha.
Calling on Finance Minister P. Chidambaram to use his widely acknowledged legal skills to determine how Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code should actually and correctly applied, Jaitley pointedly asked "What if governments in BJP-run states start imposing Section 144 to prevent AICC leaders from entering their states? India is not a banana republic."
Jaitley further said: "The whole incident requires to be investigated. This is not an inter-community disturbance. It is not a law and order situation. It is a matter of India's sovereignty. Those affected must be compensated and the guilty brought to book.
"Why have there been no arrests so far?" he asked.
Jaitley had yesterday blamed the authorities for hiding the ground realities that led to the violence.
"Shops belonging to a particular community were burnt, their vehicles were burnt, dozens of people were injured, some people have died also, houses have been looted and this violence has now spread to towns like Rajouri," said Jaitley.
"The BJP wanted its delegation to go there so that the confidence of the victims could be built up and also to find out the factual situation. Now, there is a complete censorship and the national media is not allowed there," he added.
Curfew continued to be in force in Kishtwar town on Monday due to prevailing tension in the wake of last week's communal clashes.
Educational institutions have been shut across the state and mobile internet services blocked after clashes took a turn for the worse on Sunday.
Apart from Kishtwar, seven other districts are under curfew, including Jammu and Rajouri, following acts of arson and violence.
Army personnel continue to patrol key areas to maintain law and order.
State Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has ordered a judicial probe into the clashes that have claimed the lives of three persons so far.
