Farooq Abdullah meets Sanjay Singh, both converse with AAP MP standing behind gate

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], September 11 (AHBTVI): National Conference President Farooq Abdullah on Thursday met Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh at a guest house in Srinagar. Their conversation, however, took place with Singh standing behind the gate of the guest house.

The AAP MP alleged that the Srinagar Police had placed him under house arrest. Abdullah condemned the attempt to stop Singh from holding a protest and press conference against the detention of the party’s lone MLA, Mehraj Malik, under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

Speaking to ANI, Abdullah said that preventing Singh from holding a protest was ‘absolutely wrong’. Criticising Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, he alleged that the LG was using his powers for ‘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 J&K chief minister said.

Referring to the unrest in Nepal and Bangladesh, Abdullah cautioned that the constitution must be safeguarded before ‘such a fire breaks out in the country’. He said, ‘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.’

This came after Singh alleged that the Jammu and Kashmir Police were not allowing him to leave the government guest house to protest against the arrest of Mehraj Malik. Sharing visuals on X, Singh described the police action as ‘dictatorship’. He wrote, ‘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.’

Singh added that AAP leaders had planned a protest and press conference in Srinagar. He 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, Singh met the family of Mehraj Malik in Jammu before travelling to Srinagar. ‘Met the father and brother of Mehraj Malik in Jammu. I have reached Srinagar, and tomorrow a meeting with party workers will be held to decide the plan for the upcoming struggle,’ he posted on X.

In an earlier post, Singh alleged that Malik had been unfairly booked under the PSA in retaliation for raising people’s issues in his constituency. He said that attempts by the BJP administration to ‘crush AAP’ in Jammu and Kashmir would only strengthen the party. ‘AAP MLA Mehraj Malik was booked under a serious law like PSA only because he raised his voice for building hospitals, schools, and roads in his constituency. From this historic land of Jammu and Kashmir, I want to make it clear to the BJP administration and the Prime Minister that the more you try to crush the Aam Aadmi Party, the stronger it will become,’ he wrote.

The detention of Malik, an AAP MLA from the Doda constituency, was ordered on Monday under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, for activities deemed prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.

(ANI)