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NC chief Farooq meets Sanjay Singh across guesthouse gate in Srinagar
J&K ex-CM invokes Nepal unrest, accuses LG Manoj Sinha of misusing powers, while AAP MP alleges under house arrest as prevented from protesting against MLA Mehraj Malik’s PSA detention.
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Thursday met Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh at a guest house in Srinagar. However, their conversation took place with Singh standing behind the gate of the guest house.
The AAP MP alleged that the Srinagar police have kept him under house arrest.
Abdullah condemned the attempt to stop Sanjay Singh from holding a protest and press conference against the detention of lone party MLA Mehraj Malik under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA).
Abdullah argued that not allowing Sanjay Singh to hold a protest was “absolutely wrong”.
Criticising Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, he said that the LG was utilising his powers for the “wrong purposes”.
“This is absolutely wrong. In a democracy, protest is the right given by the Constitution of India. The sad part is that J&K is a UT, and the LG has all the powers. He is using it for the wrong purposes. Was it important to prevent Sanjay Singh from speaking? This is not an autocratic rule. There is a Constitution here,” the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said.
Suggesting caution while referring to the recent unrest in Nepal and Bangladesh, Abdullah said that the Constitution needs to be safeguarded before “such a fire breaks out in the country”.
“The LG also has to protect the Constitution, and if he does not protect it, I regret to say this, he should be afraid of what is happening in Nepal. How did the situation in Nepal deteriorate? Today, the situation is such that their constitution has ended, and there is no government there. Look at the condition of Bangladesh. That is why I request you, before such a fire breaks out in our country, take care of the Constitution and do not go beyond its limits,” he added.
This comes as Singh alleged that the Jammu and Kashmir Police are not allowing him to leave the government guest house to protest against the arrest of fellow party leader Mehraj Malik.
Sharing the visuals on X, Sanjay Singh called the police action “dictatorship”. “Dictatorship is at its peak. I am in Srinagar at this moment. Raising one’s voice for rights and protesting in a democracy is our constitutional right,” he wrote.
Singh added that the AAP leaders were to hold a protest and a press conference in Srinagar.
The AAP MP wrote, “Today, there was a press conference and sit-in in Srinagar against the illegal arrest of Mehraj Malik, but the government guest house has been turned into a police camp. I am not being allowed to leave the guest house with Imran Hussain and companions.”
On Wednesday, Sanjay Singh met the family of Mehraj Malik in Jammu before travelling to Srinagar.
In an earlier post, Singh alleged that Malik had been unfairly booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA), claiming it was retaliation for raising people’s issues in his constituency. He said that attempts by the BJP administration to “crush the AAP in Jammu and Kashmir would only make it stronger”.
Doda East AAP MLA Mehraj Malik was booked under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, on Monday for activities being prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.
