Srinagar, Sept 08: Cutting across party lines, ruling National Conference, opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), People’s Conference and others on Monday condemned the detention of AAP MLA from Doda, Mehraj Malik, under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA), saying it was an “assault on democracy”.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said Malik is “not a threat to public safety” and using a “discredited law to detain him is wrong”.
“There is no justification for detaining Mehraj Malik under PSA. He’s not a threat to ‘public safety’ and using this discredited law to detain him is wrong. If the unelected government can use its powers against an elected representative like this then how does anyone expect the people of J&K to continue to have faith in democracy,” he said on X.
“Strongly condemn the use of PSA against MLA Doda @MehrajMalikAAP. Detaining elected representatives under draconian laws sets a dangerous precedent in J&K post-2019, stifling democracy and silencing dissent. Free speech and political voices must be protected, not suppressed,” National Conference spokesman and Hazratbal MLA Salman Ali Sagar said in a post on X.
Slamming the action, AAP said those raising their voice for people’s rights were being treated as a threat.
“Is demanding a hospital for the people of your area such a grave crime that an elected MLA has to be thrown in jail for it? Mehraj Malik is the lion of the Aam Aadmi Party,” AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal said in a post on X in Hindi.
“He will always remain the voice of the people, fighting for their rights. Jail, threats and conspiracies… none of these can ever scare any soldier of AAP,” the Aam Aadmi Party national convenor said.
Opposition PDP also condemned the detention of the MLA from Doda.
“Strongly condemn the use of PSA against MLA Mehraj Malik. Such draconian laws are weaponised to silence political voices & crush dissent. Such authoritarian measures are no way to resolve differences in a democracy,” PDP MLA from Pulwama Waheed Para said in a post on X.
People’s Conference leader Sajad Gani Lone in a statement strongly denounced the slapping of the PSA on Malik, describing it as “yet another assault on the democratic fabric” of Jammu and Kashmir.
“We strongly condemn the use of PSA against MLA Mehraj Malik. This is a soulless democracy,” Lone said, stressing that such actions reduce the democratic process to a mere facade.
Lone said the people’s mandate continues to remain “powerless” despite the conduct of elections.
“The will of the people of J&K continues to be subservient. What is the purpose of holding elections if an elected representative is denied the right to express his sentiments?” he asked.
Lone alleged that such measures only deepen the “crisis of credibility facing the democratic institutions” in the region. “It is a very sad day for an already endangered democracy,” he added.
CPI(M) leader and Kulgam MLA M Y Tarigami called for the revocation of PSA. “Slapping PSA on an elected member of the Legislative Assembly sets a very wrong precedent. Such a harsh and unjustified measure must be immediately revoked,” Tarigami said in a statement.
Apni Party Senior Vice President Ghulam Hassan Mir in a statement said, “If the concerned MLA had committed any offence, he should have been charged under the appropriate laws. There was no need to impose such a harsh law, under which he could be kept in jail without trial. Our legal system already has sufficient provisions to take action against any accused. However, every individual has the fundamental right to defend themselves in a court of law.”
He further stated, “Invoking the PSA against an MLA will convey a wrong message to the public.”
Mir urged the administration to withdraw the PSA imposed on the MLA and, if necessary, proceed against him under the relevant provisions of law so that the court may examine the matter and deliver justice.
Awami Itihaad Party (AIP) has condemned the slapping of PSA on MLA Mehraj Malik, while reminding the political class of their “shameful silence” on the continued incarceration of MP from Baramulla, Engineer Rashid, now in his seventh year behind bars.
AIP Chief Spokesperson Inam Un Nabi in a statement issued said, “We unequivocally oppose the PSA on Mehraj Malik, but we must remind everyone, where were these loud voices when Engineer Rashid Sahib, a sitting MP with a massive people’s mandate, was thrown into Tihar Jail and left to suffer seven long years of incarceration? When he was attacked inside jail in a murderous assault, none of these so-called champions of democracy uttered a word.”
Inam accused Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and Arvind Kejriwal accusing them of selective outrage. “Today, because the noose has tightened around one of your own, you suddenly find the courage to speak. But when it was about Er Rashid Sahib, the people’s voice, an elected MP, you chose to look away. Your silence then was not just complicity, it was betrayal.”
