Says ‘lockdown’ of AAP MP detrimental to democracy
Srinagar, Sep 11: Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah on Thursday said the Public Safety Act (PSA) is not enforced anywhere else in the country, arguing that there was no reason to arrest the Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Doda, Mehraj Malik, under the Act.
Talking to reporters here, the Chief Minister said invoking PSA against MLA Doda was wrong. Omar said he met Malik’s father and assured him of every support.
“I want to advise his party that the PSA law is not enforced anywhere else in the country. If you hire a lawyer from outside, it will take them a long time just to understand this law. I have spoken to a few lawyers. We are ready to extend all possible help,” he said.
The CM said it would be better to hire a lawyer who has experience handling such cases and is well-versed in the law. “I, too, had to challenge the PSA against me in 2020,” he added.
Replying to a query, Omar said it is a reality that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh was locked. “Unfortunately, whenever incidents happen, the media has been repeatedly calling it a claim. It is not a claim but a fact. We didn’t claim that we had been locked on 13 July, but we were truly locked; we didn’t claim that we faced highhandedness on July 14, 2025, but it seriously happened,” he asserted.
The Chief Minister added, “Though it is being said that everything is fine in Jammu and Kashmir and a new J&K is emerging, the reality is that they always adopt a stringent stance against us. The law was misused to arrest Mehraj Malik, as there was no reason for it. If someone has an issue with his behaviour, they should have approached the Assembly Secretariat and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.”
The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 (PSA) is a preventive detention law specific to J&K. Besides the National Security Act, 1980 (NSA)—which is pan-India—several Indian states have their own state-specific preventive detention laws dealing with matters like bootlegging, drug trafficking, organized crime, and activities prejudicial to public order.
