Srinagar, Feb 4 (PTI) The National Conference on Thursday criticised the Centre for not allowing a delegation of Members of Parliament of opposition parties to meet the protesting farmers at Ghazipur border and said the move was undemocratic and unparliamentary.

NC's Member of Parliament from Anantnag Hassnain Masoodi was also a part of the group of 15 MPs from 10 opposition parties who visited Ghazipur on Thursday morning but were not allowed to meet the protesting farmers.

The MPs said the issue would be brought to the notice of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

“Despite repeated requests, we were not allowed to meet the protesting farmers. We were forced to return back from the border entry point,” Masoodi said.

He said the delegation wanted to express solidarity with the protesting farmers.

“It was rather more imperative for me to be there on behalf of my party which for the breadth of its ambitious and radical political struggle has always stood for the socio-political emancipation and empowerment of farmers and other working classes.

“The very symbol of plough on our party flag is also emblematic of our party's egalitarian vision. It was our state that had emerged as a leader in agricultural reforms in the sub-continent. We still consider that the road to development runs through empowering farmers and worker classes,” he said.

Massodi said the contentious farm laws should be repealed and the government should implement the Swaminathan panel report and peg MSP to farmer's satisfaction.

“The process of evading discussion and scrutiny in the Parliament has gained prominence over the past seven years by the incumbent government. We have time and again asked the government to allow a time slot for discussions on issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir.

“Disallowing discussions on Kashmir in the Parliament speaks volumes about the undemocratic and repressive approach. We have again urged the honourable Speaker to allow a short discussion on J-K,” he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)