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Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday criticised the use of the Public Safety Act (PSA) against AAP MLA Mehraj Malik, calling it a misuse of the law.
He said that while there may have been complaints against Malik, using such a harsh law against an elected representative was excessive. Speaking to the reporters, Omar Abdullah said, "Law and order and policing are not part of the elected government's responsibility... Whatever complaints might have been there about the conduct of the MLA, the law that has been used to detain him is absolutely a misuse of the law and an excessive use of force against an elected representative..." Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Mehraj Malik, representing Doda constituency of Jammu and Kashmir, was booked under provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act 1978 (PSA) on September 8 on grounds of his activities being prejudicial to the maintenance of public order. The Public Safety Act, a preventive detention law, allows authorities in Jammu & Kashmir to detain individuals without trial for up to two years in certain cases. Prohibitory order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Surakaksha Sanhita (BNSS) continues to be imposed in Bhalessa in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district on Friday, following AAP MLA Mehraj Malik's arrest. A day earlier, National Conference (NC) MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi reacted to the detention of AAP MLA Mehraj Malik under sections of the Public Safety Act (PSA), and said that "this law is used against terrorists or for political intimidation." "PSA has not been imposed on one person or an MLA; PSA has been imposed on democracy. The law of the land has been reduced to a joke under the BJP regime. You can understand the condition of democracy if an elected MLA can be detained on vague accusations under the PSA. Even if he was at fault, cases could have been registered under other laws. This law is used against terrorists or for political intimidation..., " Mehdi said. (ANI)
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