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J&K assembly secretariat denies endorsing PSA against AAP MLA Mehraj Malik
Row erupts after PDP accuses assembly secretariat of endorsing stringent Public Safety Act against MLA for disturbing public order in Doda district.
A political controversy erupted in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday over the arrest of the lone Aam Aadmi Party MLA Mehraj Malik under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) for allegedly disturbing public order in Doda district on Monday.
The opposition PDP has termed the arrest “a shameful surrender”, accusing the assembly secretariat of endorsing the PSA against the first sitting legislator, while the secretariat issued an official communique in Jammu denying any role in the matter.
Malik, who is the first sitting MLA to have been put behind bars under the stringent preventive detention law, is also the president of the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). He was shifted to Kathua district jail on Monday evening.
“It has been highlighted/reported in some media reports, social media platforms, X (formerly Twitter) that the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Secretariat has endorsed the slapping of provisions of Public Safety Act on Mehraj Malik, MLA, which is factually incorrect and baseless as the secretariat has no role in it,” the official communique said.
However, it said the secretariat was under an obligation in terms of Rule 260 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Jammu and Kashmir assembly to inform all MLAs about Malik’s detention.
It clarified that Rule 260 reads: “As soon as may be, the Speaker shall, after he has received a communication referred to in Rule 258 or Rule 259, read it out in the House, if in session or if the House is not in session direct, that it may be published in the bulletin for the information of the members.”
On Monday, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) MLA Waheed Para termed the arrest a direct assault on democracy. In his post on X, Para demanded the protection of the democratic sanctity of elected representatives. “Shameful surrender. Assembly secretariat endorsing PSA against an elected MLA is a direct assault on democracy. J&K CM @OmarAbdullah must act, don’t allow the institution of MLA, the last agency of the people, to be silenced. Today it’s Mehraj, tomorrow it could be you,” the post read.
CM Omar Abdullah also opposed the detention claiming that Malik was not a threat to public safety. “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.
The 37-year-old AAP legislator from Doda was initially detained by police on Monday morning at Dak Bungalow as he prepared to visit flood-affected areas of his constituency. According to officials, the police prepared a dossier against Malik, and he was subsequently shifted to Bhaderwah district jail on the orders of Doda deputy commissioner Harvinder Singh with whom the MLA was involved in a public spat on social media for quite some time.
