Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was sent backfrom the Srinagar airport along with other opposition leaders on Saturday, saidthat the move by the state administration proved the law and order situation inJammu and Kashmir was "not normal". Mr Gandhi said he was invited byGovernor Satya Pal Malik to visit the state to witness that normalcy wasrestored after weeks of restrictions over the centre's decision to end specialstatus to Jammu and Kashmir and the state's bifurcation.

"Some days ago, I was invited by the Governor to visitJammu and Kashmir. So I accepted the invitation. The Governor had suggestedthat everything was normal and that he would send me a plane to visit thestate. I told him -- I don't need your plane but I will accept your invitationand I would come to Jammu and Kashmir," Mr Gandhi said."We wanted toget a sense of what people are going through and help the situation if wecould. But unfortunately we were not allowed to go beyond the airport. Thepress people with us were mishandled, beaten. It's clear that things are notnormal in Jammu and Kashmir," Mr Gandhi added.

Governor Malik said Mr Gandhi's visit was political.

"I had invited him out of goodwill but he started doingpolitics. It (their visit) was nothing but a political action by these people.Parties should keep in mind the national interest at these times,"Governor Malik was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.

The Jammu And Kashmir Information and Public RelationsDepartment on Friday tweeted political leaders should not "not visitSrinagar as they would be putting other people to inconvenience" at a"time when the government is trying to protect the people of Jammu andKashmir from the threat of cross border terrorism and attacks..."

Mr Gandhi and 11 leaders accompanying him have written aletter to the district administration, saying its apprehensions over theirvisit were baseless. "We are responsible political leaders and elected representativesand our intentions are entirely peaceful and humanitarian," the letterread. 

Among the parties that were part of the opposition'sall-party delegation that landed at Srinagar were Congress, CPI(M), CPI,Rashtriya Janata Dal, Nationalist Congress Party, Trinamool Congress and theDMK.