Sitaram Yechury, on his visit to the Kashmir valley last week, was detained at the Srinagar airport.

Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday thanked his followers on Twitter for the birthday wishes, but added that there wasn't much celebrate in what he said was a "dark atmosphere in India". The Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader has been one of the prominent voices attacking the government over its recent decision to scrap Jammu and Kashmir's special status.

The veteran Communist leader, hitting out at the Centre for its handling of the economy and the devastating floods in the Southern states, tweeted: "I am grateful for all your wishes on my birthday. We do not mark birthdays, and with the dark atmosphere in India now, the deep economic distress, the floods and the undemocratic clampdown in J&K, there is very little to celebrate."

I am grateful for all your wishes on my birthday. We do not mark birthdays, and with the dark atmosphere in India now, the deep economic distress, the floods and the undemocratic clampdown in J&K, there is very little to celebrate. — Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) August 13, 2019

On his visit to the Kashmir valley last week amid the government lockdown, Mr Yechury was detained at the Srinagar airport, along with CPI leader D Raja and later sent back. "This despite the fact that he had informed the administration about his visit to meet CPIM MLA MY Tarigami who is not well & other party workers. We strongly protest this illegal detention," Mr Yechury's party tweeted.

Thousands of security personnel have been deployed in Jammu and Kashmir and restrictions have been in place since the government revoked J&K's special status under Article 370. The mood on Eid remained tense, but police say barring minor incidents, the festival went peacefully.

While greeting the people of Jammu and Kashmir on Eid, Sitaram Yechury also accused the government of keeping them "imprisoned" in their own homes.

"Eid is an occasion of joy and celebration, and our thoughts are with the people of Kashmir who have been kept imprisoned in their own homes. We still don't know how or where our Comrades in Kashmir are," he had tweeted.