Legislators raise detention of AAP MLA on Day 1 of Assembly session

On the first day of the autumn session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, several legislators raised the detention of Mehraj Malik, who represents the Doda constituency, and was detained under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) in September for allegedly disturbing public order.

His arrest was the first instance in the recent past in Jammu and Kashmir where a sitting MLA was detained under the PSA.

National Conference (NC) legislators also stood from their seats and raised the detention of Malik as the nine-day autumn session of the J&K Assembly commenced here today.

Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, however, asked them to sit down as discussion on the issue could not be allowed on the first day of the session which was kept for obituary references.

During the obituary references, Peoples Democratic Party legislator Rafiq Ahmad Naik and legislator Sheikh Khursheed, brother of jailed Lok Sabha MP Engineer Rashid, also raised the detention of Malik during the session.

Several National Conference (NC) and Congress MLAs staged a silent protest inside the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly complex and demanded release of Malik.

Carrying placards which read, “Don’t silence democracy — Free Mehraj Malik,” and “Release Mehraj Malik”, the legislators said the detained MLA had democratic right to participate in the Assembly proceedings.

NC legislator Tanvir Sadiq, who also serves as the party’s chief spokesperson, told reporters, “The NC and other colleagues in the Assembly are demanding that Malik should be released sooner, so that he could performs his duties as an MLA.”

“I think elected representatives shouldn’t be arrested,” he said.

Sadiq said, “Everybody is supporting… We want Mehraj Malik to be released because the beauty of democracy lies in the fact that a legislator is a person elected by the people.”

“He has been elected by the people of Doda. The people of Doda deserve that their representative speaks on their behalf in the Assembly session. We strongly demand release of Mehraj Malik,” he said.

Talking to reporters after the first day of the session, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said most members at the Assembly were worried about the detention of Malik under the PSA.

“I don’t think he has done anything or said anything, that warranted slapping of the PSA against him,” he said.

The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh last week had directed the Union Territory government to file a response by October 18 on an application filed by Doda MLA Mehraj Malik, seeking permission to attend the upcoming Assembly session and vote in the Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for Friday (October 24).