Freedom denied to Kashmiris: Chidambaram

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday alleged freedom was being denied to 75 lakh people in the Kashmir valley and dubbed the Central government "retrograde."

The former Union Minister, who arrived here for the first time after being in a Delhi prison for 106 days in the INX Media case, said he was very happy to breathe the air of freedom. "But at the same time, in several parts of the nation, freedom is being snatched away and voices of freedom are being choked...and you should not forget it at all," he told reporters here.

Chidambaram alleged "as we speak now, freedom is denied to 75 lakh people in the Kashmir valley," adding if freedom of one person was denied, it meant denying it for all the people. "Freedom cannot be separated, yours is mine and mine is yours and if I do not protect your freedom, you cannot protect mine," he said. "In this country, a right-wing, retrograde (government) is moving towards a fascist type of government that usurped freedom... we have to be very vigilant," he said.

The country will become truly independent only when the people in the rest of the nation showed south India's vigil and in particular Tamil Nadu's caution in opposing the BJP, he claimed. Lauding the people of the State, he said it was the people of Tamil Nadu who vehemently opposed the Saffron party and such a kind of opposition should spread across the country and it was his desire, he said. Earlier, Chidambaram was given a rousing reception by Congress workers at the airport here.