Mayawati criticises Opposition leaders for attempted visit to Kashmir, says they gave Centre, governor chance to politicise issue

New Delhi: BSP chief Mayawati on Monday said that Opposition leaders should have put in a little more thought before scheduling a visit to Jammu and Kashmir. “Did not the recent visit of Congress and other party leaders to Kashmir sans permission give the Centre and the Governor a chance to do politics? It would have been appropriate if they had thought about it a bit before going there,” Mayawati said in a series of tweets. [caption id=“attachment_7228321” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of BSP chief Mayawati. ANI[/caption] The BSP leader said that her party’s ideologue Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar remained a supporter of equality, unity and integrity of India and that is why he was not in favour of implementing Article 370 in Jammu Kashmir separately. “As it is known, Babasaheb was always a supporter of unity, equality and integrity of the country and that is why he was not in favour of the separate provision of Article 370 in Jammu Kashmir. This was the reason why BSP supported the removal of this Article,” she said. The former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also said that it will take some time for normalcy to return in Jammu Kashmir. “But after the end of Article 370, about 69 years after the implementation of the Constitution in the country, it will take some time for the situation to become normal there. It is better to wait a bit, as has been accepted by the Honorable Court as well,” she said. A delegation of Opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi had gone to Srinagar on Saturday to see the ground situation in the region. However, they were not allowed to step out of Srinagar airport and were sent back an hour after landing in the city.